LOS BELKINGS
Instrumental Waves 1966-1973 (Nuevos Medios; CD)
     When Hank B Marvin travelled south and formed The Drifters/Shadows, I doubt he realised quite how far south the group's unique for the time sound would travel. Los Belkings are another great Peruvian group (see also the Laghonia review below). There's a definite Shads influence which founder Juan De Pablos eagerly attests to in the liner notes (which appear in both Spanish and English). However, given the span of the set (and the tracks are non-chronological), other influences inevitably apply. There's the American surf guitar style of the Ventures, Dick Dale et al and, as in the kick off tracks from the latter period, the shadow of Carlos Santana amongst others looms large. This might sound like it doesn't add up to much, but you'd be very wrong, dear reader. What we have here is a cauldron of 25 guitar licking instros that map the progress of sixties styles with aplomb. This bunch were no slouches and they tackle psychedelia and exotica as casually as if they were born to it. I was knocked out by this set and there is genuinely something for everyone here; surf, Shads, fusion, psych and beat, not a duffer amongst them and something else Peru can be justly proud of. The faint hearted amongst you don't even have a 'language barrier' to contend with, it's all instro and it's all strong stuff.
     You can even order it on Amazon so don't let me keep you any longer!
www.senhorf.com.br/sf3vs/MATERIAS32/belkings.htm
Paul Martin

JOHN CARTER
A Rose By Any Other Name (Rev-Ola; CD)
     Most Shindig! readers already know Carter as the main man behind The Ivy League and The Flowerpot Men, and that he co-wrote such classics as 'Let's Go To San Francisco', 'Little Bit 'O Soul', 'Beach Baby' and the original version of the Sagittarius psych-pop masterpiece 'My World Fell Down' but betcha didn't know that Carter was for a time a member of The Ohio Express (of course given the fact that calling anyone a “member” of this studio creation is a dubious proposition)! This last fact, along with other verbal and musical pearls of wisdom, can be found on A Rose By Any Other Name, a collection of Carter-penned (and mostly performed) tunes, circa 1969-1975.     Like Jonathan King and Tony Rivers, Carter was wont to create some silly pseudonyms, and on this collection you can find tracks by groups with such delightful handles as Butterwick, Running Jumping Standing Still Band and Stormy Petrel. Carter shows himself to be a master of virtually every style of music that graced the Top 40 airwaves during the period. You get UK bubblepop on Butterwick's 'My Sweet Potato', earthy Americana on 'Boats Of Angel Bay' by Fat Man's Music Festival, glitter on Kentucky Freeway's 'Take Off', reggae on 'The Power Of Advertising' by Omega Theatre, the country-rock of     'Let It Roll' by former Honeybus drummer Pete Kircher, the 50s flavoured 'Sweet Talkin' Mama' by Red Line Explosion and the childlike TV jingle 'Please Yourself' by The Tots, as well as many other like-minded gems.
     There's nothing groundbreaking within the circumference of this disc, but you'll certainly find that there are very few artists who could create consistently good pop confections as could John Carter.    
www.revola.co.uk
David Bash

GENE CLARK
Set You Free: Gene Clark In The Byrds 1964-1973 (Raven; CD)
     Gene Clark has always been severely underrated and under credited as both a song writer of substantial merit and as one of the founding fathers of country rock. Raven have constructed a compelling collection that proves that Gene Clark was more than the tambourine man of The Byrds.
     Most Byrdmaniax will already own all of these tracks spread across numerous Byrds and Gene Clark CDs. Hearing all of these powerful Clark performances on one CD is yet further proof that he was the strongest song writer in The Byrds. The Byrds would never be the same after he walked away to his ill fated solo career in 1965. If you don't already own the early Byrds canon and Clark's Roadmaster compilation, then this is a handy one-stop-shop for the best of Gene's work with his fellow Byrds.
     The CD works it way chronologically from 1964's Jim Dickinson produced Pre-Flyte recordings through the psychedelic piece de résistance, 'Eight Miles High'. Fellow Byrds Roger McGuinn and David Crosby have both stated that they were jealous of Gene for buying a new Ferrari in 1965 with the royalties from his prolific song writing talents. It's hard to believe that a gem like 'She Don't Care About Time' could be relegated to a B-side! The set also includes the superb 'The Day Walk' that was first uncovered for the Never Before LP and one wonders why it was left off of the Fifth Dimension album.
     The collection includes the absolutely stunning 1970 Byrds reunion (of sorts) tracks 'She's The Kind Of Girl' and 'One In A Hundred'. Legal ranglings prevented this tremendous single from being released at the time but it would eventually see the light of day on the Dutch Roadmaster compilation in 1973. These two cuts demonstrate just how powerful a reunited Byrds produced by Jim Dickinson could have been at that time. A real reunion would have to wait until until the laborious self-titled 1973 Asylum album from which the final three songs, 'Changing Heart', 'Cowgirl In The Sand' and 'Full Circle' bring this collection full circle (sorry for the pun). Fittingly this Crosby dominated reunion's stand out tracks were all Clark's. Sadly, Clark died in 1997 without really ever truly reconciling with McGuinn and Crosby and he's yet to receive his dues for the groundbreaking work he cut with The Byrds and as a solo artist.
     Perhaps this digitally remastered 22 track collection, with liner notes by Clark expert Sid Grffin, will alert a new millennium of fans to the quiet kid from Tipton, Missouri.
www.ravenrecords.com.au
Mark A Johnston

FUSCHIA
Fuschia (Night Wings Records; CD)
     A musical realisation by Tony Durant, Fuschia is as nectar to the ears. Originally released in 1971 via the indie Kingdom label, Durrant describes his vision of Fushia as wanting to make string parts integral to the song, not something that was added afterwards as embellishment. This he achieved majestically by engaging the services of three young classically trained female string players, Madeleine Bland (Cello), Janet Rogers (violin) and Vanessa Hall-Smith (viola). This was pre- ELO, let alone anything else and whereas girlie string sections are happily prevalent in pop today, in 1971 they were still pretty left field. With co-writer Robert Chudley, Durant and the girls crafted an album's worth of breathtaking music. Durant wanted to take pop beyond the confines of the three minute single and this he did successfully. However, he retains the melody and hooks of a pop songwriter and the meld of pop intuition and progressive melody and form makes Fuschia a classic and even defining moment in early 70s progressive music. The nearest analogy I can think of is of a heavily orchestrated Fairfield Parlour. Orch-pop fans should love it for its form and flow, prog fans as an antidote to the emphasis of 'rock' in prog, Fushia made progressive music crisp and intelligent, dignified and sophisticated way beyond the pretensions of some of their heavier and indeed lighter contemporaries. In my book, this is a must own album. Night Wings have 24 bit digitally remastered the original tapes and the sound quality is immaculate as is the delicious digi-packaging.
     A beautiful album for long winter evenings - buy it now!
www.nightwings.org
Paul Martin

TIM HOLLIER
Tim Hollier (Nightwings; CD)
     This is possibly the first anthology that Tim Hollier has enjoyed. His 1968 Message To The Harlequin album has been picking up admirers from across various sixties genres as has his second self-titled album. Now Night Wings have provided a good sampler from Hollier's most essential work for the benefit of those curious but unable to easily source his original albums (or the means to play them!).
     Of the 23 tracks, the first seven are taken from his debut. This album has garnered plaudits not least because of its delicious orchestration. It sits comfortably alongside early Peter Sarstedt, Duncan Browne and Nick Garrie. Indeed Hollier played on Sarstedt's first two albums. Co-written with friend Rory Fellowes (who wrote the lyrics, whilst Hollier wrote the music), all seven cuts are wonderous lightweight orch-pop. On the ten tracks culled from the second album, the orchestration is far less prevalent and the acoustic guitar more dominant. Perhaps somewhat more folky and less instantly likeable, these cuts are nonetheless highly enjoyable. Tracks 18-23 are from the 1971 Skysail album which sees a return to a more orchestrated approach (at least on the tracks chosen here) and has to some extent an updated Harlequin feel to it. More singer-songwritery than its predecessor, Skysail achieves a maturity in both the execution and delivery of the songs which implies a much advanced confidence. Hollier made one final album in The Story of Mill Reef in 1974 but it's the trio of LPs sampled here that represent his most crafted work. The full Tim Hollier story is related in detail in the accompanying booklet.
     Folkies, orch-poppers and singer-songwriter acolytes will find plenty to enthuse about here.
www.nightwings.org
Paul Martin

JOE & BING
Daybreak (Rev-Ola; CD)
     Originally issued in 1971, Daybreak has been bootlegged before on vinyl (an original copy sold for $770 on Ebay), but this is the     official CD reissue and is accompanied by a bevy of bonus cuts. William "Bing" Bingham met Joseph "Joe" Knowlton as students at Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut in 1962. They soon teamed up and began playing folk clubs as a duo. As ever, the draft split them up for the prime part of the 1960s, but were reunited towards the end of the decade and began writing and playing together again. Their beautiful Daybreak albumwas released in 1971 and sunk without trace although the duo continued to make a living in music through jingle writing etc.
     What's on offer here is in large part a pop-folk approach to soft pop. Very acoustically based with subtle backing instrumentation and sympathetic string arrangements allowing their appealing harmonised vocals to ride across the whole. There are exceptions; their arrangement of the traditional folk favourite 'Fennario', a stripped-down funky ride through Stephen Stills' 'Love The One You're With' and the gorgeous 'Sail' which boasts a bossa flavour, not surpising given that the album was co-produced by the impeccably pedigreed Brazilian Eumir Deodato and Harry Lookofsky, father of The Left Banke's Michael Brown. This is a Sunday morning record and very pretty on the ears. The bonus tracks include pre-orchestrated versions of perhaps the albums finest moment 'If Love's In Season' and also 'Summer Sound', along with mainly purely acoustic demos of unissued tracks including Harry Nilsson's evergreen 'Without Her'. The liners include an in-depth commentary by Joe and Bing themselves.
     Soft pop people everywhere will enjoy this delicious disc.
www.revola.co.uk
Paul Martin

LAGHONIA
Unglue (Re-psych-led; CD)
     Laghonia were simply one of the best products ever to come out of Peru - fact! Evolving from the former New Juggler Sound, Laghonia developed a very impressive and harmonious acid psych sound. They left a legacy of two superb albums in Etcetera and Glue. Unglue is a 54 minute re-assembly of rehearsals for Glue. I have no hesitation in recommending this over-amped collection unreservedly. However, you should not start here if you're not already familiar with Glue, currently available on reissue along with Etcetera. You can also check them out on the South American volume of Love, Peace & Poetry where killer title track 'Glue' resides alongside a New Juggler Sound single. If you know and love Glue, then the Unglue sessions are the perfect accompaniment to it, just as The Outsiders' CQ sessions are to CQ.
     Essentially, there's a lot of wild guitar flailing going on, psych rock of a high order with lead vocals in the background, sometimes instrumental entirely. There are maybe one or two tracks you don't need (a chord learning session for a song is rather frustrating to sit through) but in general, this is a sonic attack of over-amped but well recorded guitar power. Two takes of 'Glue' alone, one a full-on assault, the other a twin guitar run through, make this a joy. A fab way to hear how such a regional classic psych rock album came about. Good riffs and competent playing make this a great listen with only minimal recourse to the skip button.
     Definitely more than an archival entry, you need to hear this!
www.repsychled.com
Paul Martin

THE RECORDS
Crashes (On The Beach; CD)
     The Records were certainly the quintessential UK power pop band, long known for their tight harmonies, strong backbeat and guitar interplay, and their marvelously hooky songs. The lion's share of their fine reputation comes from their classic tune 'Starry Eyes' along with the debut album from which that song comes. However, many fans would vote the second Records album, Crashes, as their best. No doubt that Crashes, reissued here with several bonus tracks, is a fine piece o' vinyl (or PVC in this case), as it features some of The Records' best tracks including the warm, twangy 'Hearts In Her Eyes' (made popular by The Searchers during their amazing comeback), the Jam-esque, new-wavey 'Rumour Sets The Woods Alight' and the stuttering 'Man With A Girlproof Heart', classic power poppers like 'Girl In Golden Disc' and 'Guitars In The Sky' and one of the prettiest songs you'll ever hear by anyone, 'Hearts Will Be Broken'. If that one doesn't make you weep, well sir, you're not a real man!
     The bonus tracks include 'I'm Sorry' the neat B-side of 'Hearts In Her Eyes', a couple of pretty good Crashes out-takes, “Injury Time” and “Vamp”, and nifty early versions of 'The Same Mistakes' and 'Man With A Girlproof Heart'.
     Crashes is definitely a must for power pop fans of all shapes and sizes.
www.therecords.com
David Bash

SANDIE SHAW
Nothing Comes Easy (EMI; 4-CD box)
     Ummmm, lovely. This is just delicious. I am just so pleased it exists! It's unfortunate that the hit-Brit sixties girls get carelessly repackaged and lumped together like some ersatz ear fodder. Someone has finally done the decent thing and properly compiled this wonderful box (or more correctly book) set. Lulu's sixties sides are also set for a similar treatment early in '05 so keep 'em peeled for that as well. Ms Goodrich's complete UK single As and Bs are all present and correct spanning three CDs and the years 1964 to 1988. A fourth CD is full of delightful rarities and unreleased material.
     Discs one and two cover the years 1964-71 and are packed with 54 (largely) excellent Brit-girl numbers. Yes, there are a few like 'Puppet On A String' 'Rose Garden' and 'Those Were The Days' which you may not want to hear especially, but in context they don't sound half as bad as you expect (actually Sandie sings 'Those Were The Days' much better in German - seek it out!). Compare her debut 45 from '64, 'As Long As You're Happy Baby' and it's flip 'Ya-Ya-Da-Da' to its follow-up '(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me' – it's like a different singer as liner writer Tristram Penna notes. 'As Long..' is any wannabe Sixties girl singer and all the more fascinating for it given the quickly acquired sophistication that followed in many of Sandie's recordings. You can reel 'em off, but despite what Sandie Shaw herself might think of them (she has been famously dismissive of much of her back catalogue in the past), as a listener they all just put a big smile on my face: 'Don't You Know', 'I'll Stop At Nothing', 'Message Understood', 'Tomorrow', 'Run', 'You've Not Changed', 'Today', 'One More Lie', 'Voice In the Crowd', 'Think It All Over', 'Heaven Knows I'm Missing Him Now' (to be reworked as '...Miserable Now' by Morrisey and The Smiths). Gem after girl-pop gem to my ears. Man, that Chris Andrews (her writing partner at this time) sure knew how to pull a killer pop tune out of any hat! The later titles such as 'Maple Village' and 'Wight Is Wight' are interesting and vaguely wobbly pop and as near to hippyness or whimsy as Sandie ever got.
     Disc three covers the years 1972-88 and is necessarily more patchy because of this. The first six tracks date from '72 and are much slower in pace and exploratory in lyrical content as was the trend of the singer-songwriter of the period. All of them are highly worthwhile 'Where Did They Go?', 'Look At Me', 'Pity The Ship Is Sinking' and 'Still So Young' all allow Sandie to vocally stretch out and for the orchestration to be more than merely decorative. There's a hiatus of a few years which is followed by the near disco funkism of 'Just A Disillusion' which becomes more likeable after a few plays as the difference in style to its predecessors is so great. There then follows Sandie's take on Bacharach and David's 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' which I never really liked as a song, regardless of who is singing it. The instrumental version that follows only compounds this for me. Then there's the 80s renaissance via one Stephen Morrisey which in some cases works miracles and in other falls dreadfully flat. Ups are 'Hand In Glove', 'Go Johnny Go!', 'Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness', 'Lover Of The Century' and 'Nothing Less Than Brilliant'. These all work with a feistiness that lifts them above the norms of the time. Downs are 'Like A Star', 'I Don't Owe You Anything', 'Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken' and 'Frederick'. The latter is not a bad tune in itself but as with the others, it is ruined by the awful production and instrumentation values of the 1980s. Nonetheless, there's more to adore than abhor on the disc as a whole.
     Disc four is full of unissued and rare sides and all but the last three are sixties delights. The re-make of 'As Long As You're Happy' is great to compare to the original, more confident and strident in tone. Then there's beauties like 'Surround Yourself With Sorrow', 'Ask Any Woman', 'Gypsy Eyes', 'I'll Cry Myself To Sleep', 'The Comedy' and 'I Can't Go On Living Without You' which are mid-paced and graceful to a fault. Bob Stanley' introductory essay really nails the context and the times and is written with a fan's insight. Sandie herself adds notes and narrative to the liners on a song by song basis and there's lavish period photos, ephemera and label shots a-plenty on the glossy booklet - so what's not to like!! Fans will swoon, and any self-respecting girl-pop fan should own this like a bible.
     Ooh I must take me shoes off!
www.sandieshaw.com/index2.php
Paul Martin

THE SYN
Original Syn (Yes Services; 2-CD)      Of course there's no point in reviewing a CD that is already sold out and unobtainable, as is the case with this set. However, most of the music contained herein, will be made available again as a single CD in 2005, hence the review/preview. This edition of The Syn's collected recordings was a limited edition offered by the Yes information website in November. Initially, a numbered and signed edition of 300 were produced but demand was such that more (presumably uncertified or signed) copies were made, all of which have been distributed.
     Although disc one clocks in at a meagre 37 minutes, if this is really all the original 60s Syn material there is, it is right and proper that it exists as a collection in one place. This disc kicks off with 'Mallard Way' an inconsequential 30 second ivory tinkler that has no right to be called a track in its own right. Then we move on to the four recordings proper, compiled on numerous occasions in recent years 'Grounded', '14 Hour Technicolour Dream', 'Created By Clive' and 'Flowerman', all from the masters and sounding pristine and excellent (although I still prefer The Attack's take on 'Created By Clive'). Of the newly available stuff there are some beauties. 'The Last Performance Of The Royal Regimental Very Victorious And Valiant Band' is an excellent piece of toy town pop with cod military march rhythms which sounds like Mark Wirtz could have written it - excellent stuff. 'Mr White's White Flying Machine' sounds like you think a song with a title like that ought to, although this version is sung by Ayshea Brough (of TV's Lift Off With Ayshea fame) from her 1970 self-titled LP on Polydor (the rest of which is well worth a listen as well). There does not seem to be an extant version by The Syn although it is one of their songs. Ayshea's version is excellent. 'Cadillac Dreams' is just a piano/vocal run through and doesn't really register but 'Merry Go-Round' catches The Syn at their earliest in 1965 and they sound as gnarly and snotty as any US garage band of the same vintage - a great piece of beat and with Chris Squire's bass chops already sounding above average. The three-part rehearsal tape of 'The Gangster Opera' (all that survives as a fragment) is also a pretty cool piece of 1967 era underground. The rather superfluous band member chattering could have been left off, it serves little purpose, but the 'Chorus' and 'Legs Diamond' segments are glorious and a real shame they do not survive in completed version. The Selfs (who merged with The High Court to form The Syn) get two goes at post-functional survival in the from of a tame version of The Who's 'I Can't Explain' and 'Love You' which is more interesting. This is all that you can expect to hear on the new single CD edition.
     The second disc contains a suitably (for a prog piece) 14 minute long version of 'Illusion' by Syn vocalist Steve Nardelli and Peter Banks. I'm not a progger by any means, in fact the approach of which tends to make me adopt the persona and appearance of Edward Munc's painting The Scream! However, 'Illusion' is no bloated prog monolith -     it's an intelligent and well crafted, not to mention tuneful and groovy roller coaster ride and I love it! The Syn (or parts thereof) have reformed and are recording a new album next year. I don't usually put much store in these kind of reformations and resurrections, but if 'Illusion' is any gauge as to what's coming, I'll be up for the first available copy. Disc two also contains a new 45 minute interview with Chris Squire about The Syn and the context and times they were playing in etc.
     All in all this is a great package. If you don't suffer from musical sectarianism, I can recommend the single disc version of this set. It is more than just archival, it's revealing and that's got to be good.
www.synmusic.net
Paul Martin

TOL-PUDDLE MARTYRS
Tol-Puddle Martyrs (Secret Deal CD)
     Nothing to do with the early inspiration for UK trade unions and certainly not from Tolpuddle in Dorset, but from Bendigo, Australia!    
     Starting life in 1964 as Peter & The Silhouettes, the band were one of many teenage Oz acts that pounded the local dance halls all across Victoria. In late 1965, the group was asked by local dancehall promoters to record two original tracks, 'Claudette Jones' and 'Natural Man' for a compilation album entitled The Scene from Northern Victoria (available now on CD from rock historian Chris Spencer at moonlight@impulse.net.au). 'Claudette Jones' is a classic Pretty Things/Primitives style fuzzed up garage thumper about a woman who gives the singer cars and money and “drives a big black Cadillac/coloured TV in the back!” Young, loud and snotty. The B-side of this first single, 'Natural Man', is a slow 'House Of The Rising Sun' groove about not wanting to be a “hard working man like my dad.”
     By 1966, the band needed a name change to keep up with the changing times: Band member Peter Rechter explains in the liners that when he studied British history and the Tol-Puddle Martyrs were one of the subjects he had to study. Guitarist Kevin Clancy thought we should hyphenate Tolpuddle. Why not? The band recorded two Peter Rechter originals, 'Time Will Come' and 'Social Cell' for their then manager's own Spiral label in 1967. The single reached number six on the top 40 Central Victoria charts. 'Time Will Come' is a haunting and psychedelia-drenched social commentary number with an eerie Farfisa organ backing. 'Social Cell' is more of an angst-ridden protest number with a 'You're A Better Man than I' inspired feel. The 1968 single 'Love Your Life” is poppy and less in the garage style of the previous single while the far more interesting flip side, 'Nellie Bligh' demonstrates a 'Sunny Afternoon' vibe. The Martyrs recorded two more tracks in 1969 that were never released and have yet to be located. As the decade ended, so did the Tol-Puddle Martyrs.
     The only downside to the CD is that it is all over far too soon and you are left wishing there was more. Filling out what is essentially an EP are surprisingly interesting updated versions (I know, I know) of 'Claudette Jones' and 'Time Will Tell'. However, the CD is interactive and contains the band's complete web site the only surviving film clip of the Martyrs.
http://www.secretdeals.com.au/SecretHome1.html
Mark A Johnston

The TROLL
Animated Music (Radioactive; CD)
     Animated Musichas long been a favourite here at Shindig Towers. It's a mesmerising collection from a Chicago quartet whose previous 45s such as 'Every Day And Every Night' and 'There Was A Time' barely hinted at the rampantly assured strain of psychedelic pop that forms the backbone of this stunning 1968 long player.
     From the opening 'Satin City News' with its cheeky role call of characters and hard rockin' fuzzed-up delivery, you can sense this ain't your average fallen-off-the-radar late 60s anomaly. 'Mr Abernathy', 'Everybody's Child' and 'I've Only Myself To Blame' are wondrous creations overflowing with lush layered vocals, outlandish guitar sounds, full-on orchestration and, well, the proverbial kitchen sink to be honest. 'Professor Pott's Pornographic Projector' eclipses its jokey lyrics and faux 1920s vocal effects to become an endearing slice of whacked-out anglophile psych-pop. Come to think of it, there's a strong Brit influence running throughout, particularly in the crystalline Sgt Pepper/Odyssey And Oracle Abbey Road production values and attention to detail. It's a shame then that the Dick Van Dyke mockneyism of 'Have You Seen The Queen?' (“Have you sane the quane?”) falls flat on its harpsichord-shaped arse, it's the album's only weak track.
     Psych fans, and I mean real psych fans, will go nuts over 'Mourning Of The Day' and 'Werewolf And Witchbreath', two of the most intense and unsettling slabs of out-there gonzo acid rock this side of the mushroom. One can't help but conclude that the crew who captured this shit on tape were winging it from start to finish and that figuring out phasing, tape delay, varispeed and expert bouncing was a happy accident. It certainly adds to my enjoyment of the record to think so.
     There are no liners or bonus tracks but the sound quality is excellent compared to Flashback's mid-90s distorted pressing. Highly recommended.
www.blueorchardrecords.com/page.home
Andy Morten

TRUCK
Surprise! Surprise! (Guerssen; LP)
     For a start Truck were Malaysian, not English. And Surprise! Surprise! was released in '73 not '67. Nevertheless, UK psych connoisseurs are sure to be impressed by this rare “surprise”. Unbefitting of their heavy moniker and unfashionably out of date by Western standards, Truck stuck with the precise, bouncy melodies and the innocent man-child vocal delivery that McCartney favoured in '67. Truck really loved the Beatles, even going as far to remodel the synth line from 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' into practically every one of their songs! But to dismiss them as a behind the times tribute band would be heresy. Opening track 'Surprise Surprise' is a cocky rocker, resplendent with overdriven guitar and an almost progressive synth emblem whilst their carefully crafted ballads resonate with genuine heartfelt passion, giving early '70s Bee Gees and Gilbert O'Sullivan a good run for their money. Like their Chilean contemporaries We All Together, Truck took the innocent nature of late '60s soft pop, added a little something of their own, and made some truly mesmerising music along the way.
     Testosterone free and entirely better off for it!
www.guerssen.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

VARIOUS ARTISTS
The History of Norwegian Rock Volumes 1-6 (NRK; CDs)
     Sweden and Denmark have had and continue to enjoy a copious reissue programme of their sixties musical output. By comparison, Norway has been ill served. Only the excellent double LP 'Raveyard Paradise' has really made it's way beyond the national border and left me for one, wanting more. The NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Company) have done here, what EMI did in Sweden with the three CD Stora Popboxen set some years back, in anthologising the countries rock history. I have currently volumes three, four and six in this series. These comprise of beat and garage (many featured on Raveyard Paradise, but are here cut from the masters in superb sound quality) on volume three, club/mod soul moves and progressive pop with a touch of psych on four and, to my ears, the best of all three in the progressive music on volume six. All three collections are sung in English. There are additionally a rock'n'roll volume, a folk volume (sung in Norwegian I believe) and a rock volume. All collections come with colour booklets which whilst written in Norwegian, have plenty of colour picture sleeve and artist photos.
     Volume three sports 29 tracks, a suitably long play disc for short beat songs featuring such acts as The Clinkers, Jan Groth & His Voodoos, Bente Lind & The Lunic Group, The Hugger Muggers and the oddly named ****Cats. The music ranges from standard covers of the day ('No,No,No', 'Shakin' All Over', 'Watch Your Step') to interesting originals in Zak's 'Take Speical Care', The Wizards' 'See You Tonight' and The Meswick Group's 'She Won't Sing'. Great sound quality makes this a winner for beat fans. Volume four is subtitled R&B and Psych. The R&B via blue eyed soul is present and correct, if a little flat at times and the band names and song titles tell their own story; The Rhythmic Six's 'Action', Little Earl & The Sapphires' 'Night Trippes', The Public Enemies' 'Believe Me'. There are then some more progressive (but not really psych) numbers such as UFO's 'Jumbo', Dream's 'Night Of The Lonely Organist And His Pals' and the most psychedelic number on offer in Hippie's 'Marianne'. This twenty tracker is a pleasurable listening experience but not that essential. Volume six is subtitled Progressive and it is that of course, but in a very positive way. Very little noodling going on here. All 18 tracks have something of value to offer and there are some blinders on here in the form of Prudence's 'Tomorrow Maybe Vanished', Titanic's 'Sea Wolf', Ruphus's 'Colored Dreams', Popol Vuh's 'Queen of All Queens' or Hole In The Wall's 'Restless Man'. These songs are a sort of prog-psych crossover in many instances and most are comparible to such vinyl comps as Star Girl And Spaceman and Here Lies Ebenezer Goode.
     You may want to try asking around the usual mail order sources for these discs as the NRK web site is only in Norwegian. They're worth persevering for though!
butikken.nrk.no/butikk/product375.html
butikken.nrk.no/butikk/product376.html
butikken.nrk.no/butikk/product378.html
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Unearthed Merseybeat Volume 2 (Viper; CD)
     There are two types of people who are really going to enjoy this. First and fourmost (ha ha!) will be those who are of the time and/or place from which this collection emanates (mainly 1961-3). Secondly, regional historians and beat fanatics who will want it for archival purposes. A good number of these tracks are transfers from reel-to-reel tapes or acetates of practice tapes made in Mum's parlour. Thus you can hear probably the earliest ever recordings by Gerry & The Pacemakers (a rather sweet and affecting original in 'Why Oh Why') and The Merseybeats doing two Everly Brothers covers. If you want to get back to the primal musical swamp from which Merseybeat arose, here it is. However, it's not really beat music you have here of course. Given the vintage this is still third-rate rock 'n' roll and blues (with honourable exceptions such as Rory Storm & The Hurricane's take on Carl Perkins's 'Lend Me Your Comb' for instance). The bulk of the content is comprised of stuff like The Swingin' Blue Jeans live in 1961 and The Delmonts 1962 take on 'Before You Accuse Me'. Head and shoulders above the rest stand two fab Kirkbys tracks, 'Penny In My Pocket' and 'Bless You', which would be worth the price of admission alone if it were not for the fact they have also been compiled on the very recent Kirkbys/23^rd Turnoff anthology The Dream Of Michaelangelo (see review here).
     Unlike volume one, this collection stops right at the time I want it to start, 1966. So there's no equivalent of The Swinging Blue Jeans' take on Jimmy Campbell's 'Keep Me Warm 'Til The Sun Shines' here. Essentially if you have a fascination with the pre-beat Mersey sound or have a historical archivist's approach to vintage pop, this will be a useful addition to your collection.
     If you just want to get your rocks off to some great rock 'n' roll, look elsewhere.
www.the-viper-label.co.uk
Paul Martin