JEFF BECK
Shapes Of Things: 60s Groups And Sessions (Sanctuary; CD)
     Beginning with Screaming Lord Sutch's 'Dracula Daughter' and ending with The GTO's 'The Ghost Chained To The Past, Present And Future' this 26 track of Beck's '60s recordings (the only part of his career that really matters) also features superb Beck session performances on Paul Jones' most crazed moment 'The Dog Presides', the Donovan rock-out 'Barbajagal', The Smoke's psychedelically blessed version of Traffic's 'Utterly Simple' and John's Children teen-punk yelp Kinksified 'But She's Mine'. All stand out alongside the expected brilliance of the Beck era Yardbirds.
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.com 
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

BEN
Ben (Akarma; LP)
     By 1971 things had gone a long way in British music and the Vertigo label took this progression to the extremes. Ben's debut album contains four songs of complex jazz-rock/prog. It's futile, pretentious and downright boring. How people believed that this kind of pompous improvisation was interesting is beyond me. File under: Oh Dear!
www.akarmarecords.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

COMPANION
Reap The Lost Dreamers (Akarma; LP)
     I was very impressed by Leviathan's 1974 album that Akarma reissued a few years back. Companion are an extension of the said band, but have a completely different sound. Whereas Leviathan were a hard rockin' prog band with a Led Zep feel Companion were an exceptionally mellow and melodic band that make strong usage of synths, acoustic guitars and harmony vocals akin to CSN & Y. I'd date the album as stemming from around 1975 due to the crisp production, although there is no mention of recording dates in the scant liners. There's a predominant Moody Blues feel, and The Beatles' 'Blackbird' is even covered. However an American approach can also be heard that gives this similar vibe to Mu - long haired, spacey, harmony driven psych. And yes, it's more psych than prog. If a fan of laid back hippyish psychedelic music from the '70s this is a highly advisable purchase.
www.akarmarecords.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

CRYSTALS
Crystals (Akarma; CD)
     This 1974 album, originally scheduled for release on Cramps records, is the result of a number of key members from Italy's prog rock scene (Banco, PFM, Alphataurus and Raccomandata Ricevuta Ritorno) getting together and writing some decent Led Zeppelin-tinged material. Comprised of straight ahead rock, proggy material and acoustic focused folk-rock pieces it's neither overly sludgy, too plagiaristic or TOO Zep (they're just the easiest of reference points). 'Persian Carpet' is a brilliant, almost SRC sounding, slice of funky garage-rock-psych that every Shindigger will flip for.
www.akarmarecords.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills 

GRANT TRACY & THE SUNSETS
Everybody Shake: The Complete Recordings (RPM; CD)
     Before Honeybus Ray Cane and Pete Dello were guitarists in The Sunsets, an early '60s British group that recorded a slew of non-threatening pop with a Cliff and The Shadows edge; as the months passed by they progressed onto beat music. 'Everybody Shake' (a Dello/Cane song) is a rockin' merseybeater, a number of instrumentals are decent too and for anyone interested in early '60s Hamburg-era British R&R this is a recommended purchase. However, Honeybus fans will hear little of the genius melodies that Dello became recognised for. This is no messing, croony pre-rave-up pop. As an aside, the two unreleased Grant Tracy cuts produced by Mark Wirtz are eccentric delights that aired the young producer's complex and imaginative aims.
www.rpmrecords.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

ALAN HAWKSHAW
Mo'Hawk: The Essential Vibes And Grooves 1967-1975 (RPM; CD)
     This is what we've been waiting for! A whole collection dedicated to the coolest of library composers and the king of 'retro cool': Alan Hawkshaw. All of these compositions are coated in heavy Hammond, fuzz, flutes, crashing drums and pumping bass lines galore. Although written as incidental music at the time of recording Hawkshaw's back catalogue from 1967-1975 now sounds like nothing else than the ultimate in swingin' cool. Bachelor bad soundtracks… the London skyline…mini skirted dolly girls…bouffanted swingers in man made fibres… Technicolor… nightclub scenes… late night martinis…bung on this CD and you will instantly forget mobile phones, the Internet, and high council tax. This is music for the In Crowd! And putting all of those obvious stereotypes aside it is absolutely fabulous music! The 20 tracks feature cuts from The Mohawks, Rumplestiltskin and material from a number of albums including the Groupie Girl soundtrack (out on RPM later in the year), Flutes For Moderns, Friendly Faces, Happy Rainbows and the theme from TV show Dave Allen At Large (of which the latter is a smoky Hammond mod groove). 
www.reprecords.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE HILLMEN
The Hillmen (Revola; CD)
     Another straight re-issue from Curt Boettcher's short-lived Together records from 1969. Boettcher must have been one of the earliest reissuers of '60s music. Existing in a time frame where after years of continually moving forward he realised that at the end of the '60s the music industry was starting to look back to simpler roots music that in turn would influence everyone from The Band through to The Beatles and The Grateful Dead. In releasing Byrd related material - last month I reviewed Doug Dillard's Banjo Album - Boettcher went on to show that The Byrds weren't at all new to country music and had always been ahead of the 'looking back' notion that many acid rockers were reverting to. The Hillmen consisted of Byrd Chris Hillman, Don Parmley and Vern & Rex Gosdin. They played bluegrass music and combined it with songs in the tradition of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seger. This was very much a new idea, and although the modernisation of folk music is associated with Dylan going electric at the Newport folk festival and offending many, The Hillmen although nowhere near as radical forged a new approach far earlier. On listening to these sides closely followed by early Byrds recordings it is very apparent as to what this type of music would become. From the Grand Ole Opry through to Sun records, The Byrds, Nashville and The Be Good Tanyas the influence of old time American music has most certainly made its mark on western civilisation.
www.revola.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS
Good Taste Is Timeless (Sundazed; CD)
     Saturday morning, hung over. Bad taste in mouth - how is it that dead rats always find a way in when you're asleep? Suffering from a head full of cotton wool and in between electric brain-throbs I'm enjoying The Holy Modal Rounders 1971 album. Good Taste Is Timeless is full of fun filled, booze ridden country-folk tunes, and although not as crazy as their earlier efforts, the feeling of a constant piss-up is evident, especially on 'Spring Of '65'. Stampfel admits to drinking plenty of Georgia Moonshine before singing, hence sounding like a prototype Shane McGowan. Produced by Scotty Moore and featuring D J Fontana this is a slick album, and the closest the Rounders ever came to being normal. Opener 'Once A Year' is a standard country-rocker, and it really is very neat, 'Love Is The Closest Thing' is a rather delicate and beautiful folk-ballad again devoid of craziness… and then on the other hand 'Boobs A Lot' is a Porky's styled ode to the female form..."They're big and round / they're all around." Not too crazy, but far from conservative. 
www.sundazed.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

KALEIDOSCOPE 
The Sidekicks Sessions 1964-1967 (Alchemy; CD)
     Hmmmm. Pros and cons with this set. First up, they are all dubbed from hitherto believed to be gone forever acetates. On the level of archaeology and history, we should all be very grateful that these have been rediscovered and made available. There is certainly some surface noise and occasional drop out and sonic fade, but all-in-all a pretty good sounding batch technically. What's on offer stylistically is, in the main, period R&B garage. Kaleidoscope obsessives or completeists will want to own this CD simply for the track 'Holiday', which is a two minute wonder, and is Kaleidoscope in everything but name, a real period beauty, all the more stunning for the leap in playing ability and confidence between this and almost everything else on the disc. The rest of the CD, unless you (like me) are historically minded and like to hear the big picture across the board (or decade) to note the changes and development in and of styles in a group, will appeal principally to beat and garage fans.
     The CD kicks off with six 'alternate' versions of songs that appear later on in the disc. Well five actually, 'Reflections', the best of these only appears here the once, so to what it is an alternate to we may never know. That is sad as it's one of the best cuts on the disc, coming across rather like The Eyes 'When The Night Falls', or possibly a very early Doors song, all rolling drums and spacey vocals. Four of the other five 'And She's Mine', 'Please Stay Don't Go', 'What Can I Do' and 'San Francisco' are standard c.1964 white-boy R&B fare but do demonstrate The Sidekicks first timid outings on to tape. The fifth number, 'He's Gonna Be A Star' is considerably better (though just as sparse, even more so perhaps than 'Reflections'), sounding like a Bob Dylan fan club, the musical tone and observational lyric point squarely to Peter Daltry's Kaleidoscope confections, especially those erring on the dark side. 'I Wants To Be Loved' is one of the better R&B tunes, being a kind of camouflaged homage to Billy Boy Arnold's 'I Ain't Got You' with its stop-start rhythm. It works considerably better than the Sidekicks takes on 'House Of The Rising Sun' and 'Roadrunner', which sports a very self-conscious sounding Americanised London accent doing some narration at various points. Perhaps in a live setting that was a crowd pleaser at the time, captured in the studio as is so often the case with such numbers, it sounds less than convincing. 'You're Not Mine' is a nice Searchers sounding garage beat number and they do a fair version of Chuck Berry's 'Wee Wee Hours', their own 'Drivin' Around' also being an amalgam of Berry's 'Too Much Monkey Business' and 'Johny B Goode'.
     12 of the 21 numbers are originals (this includes the alternate takes) and Peter Daltry himself engagingly narrates The Sidekicks interesting story in the accompanying booklet. One for Kaleisdoscope completists and established garage/beat/mod fans, but not I think, the casual listener.
Paul Martin 

CLAUDINE LONGET
Cuddle Up With Claudine: The Barnaby Years 1970-1974 (Vampi Soul; CD / 2xLP)
     Hard day at the office? Never mind, sit you down and I'll fix you a nice, long, cool Claudine Longet! If this music were edible, it would dissolve on the tongue like so much sherbet! It is seemingly over before you have got your ears around it, as though it were more of an aural suggestion than an achieved fact! Anyone who owns Spinning Wheel Vol. 1 will have heard Ms Longet doing her magnum opus (as far as I'm concerned), the sitar inflected 'Wonder Love' (I liked it so much I bought the original 45!) from 1968. The material on this platter though (the double LP version has seven extra tracks by the way) is virtually everything she recorded for ex-hubby Andy Williams's Barnaby label in the early 70s and is culled from two official albums and one compilation of unreleased material. 
     The full story of Claudine Longet's rise and fall is told by super-fan, Eric Broome in the huge fold-out poster that comes with the vinyl edition. You can also find further information and original album sleeve art etc. at his website: http://home.earthlink.net/~elbroome/longet. Longet's vocal range was not so much narrow as very firmly fixed, seldom venturing beyond a sultry semi-whispered phrasing. What's on offer is a collection of material which you might at first want to avoid - she was obviously big on The Carpenters ('They Long To Be Close To You', 'We've Only Just Begun') and continues in similar lightweight cover version vein 'Make It With You', 'God Only Knows', 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' etc. She does an intriguing 'Let's Spend The Night Together' and 'Sugar Me'. On Disc 2 (of the LP version), although the sound is much the same there is more original (purpose written) material by Barnaby staffers. 
     Light and wistful is the best way to describe these recordings. If you like your French girls strictly 'yeah yeah', then you'll be in barren territory here. It's not the sort of album you sit down and listen to, it just irritates if you do that because nothing happens, it doesn't go anywhere. However, if you just want to chill, it is a great album just to 'have on' as aural wallpaper which after all is probably all it was ever intended to be, nice to chill to, but don't go looking for anything profound, this is the easiest of easy. Longet's breathy Francophone tones however do make those Carpenters covers all the more palatable.
www.vampisoul.com 
Paul Martin

DAVID McWILLIAMS
Reflections Of… (RPM; CD)
     As a follow-up to the The Days Of… (which had liners from yours truly) comes this further collection of the talented McWilliams. When I wrote my notes nothing was known of McWilliams or how to track him down, but thankfully John O'Regan with the help of McWilliams' surviving daughter have written touching accounts of the recently deceased Irish bard. Alongside the pre-Major Minor Decca single and further tracks from the three late '60s albums are later sides from the singer's career, and although these date from the late '70s through to the mid-80s very little had changed to the calibre, tone and approach to his songwriting. Van Morrison may be the one most instantly thought of when it comes to Irish performers from the period, but the neglected McWilliams deserves equal credit. 
     Another splendid set of celtic-psychedelic-folk-rock!!!
www.reprecords.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

MAKIN' TIME
Rhythm (Ace; CD)
     Sometimes it takes something as simple as a voice from the past to reaffirm your shattered faith in life, love, joi de vivre and the wonders that pop brings. This superb compilation really hits the spot. Makin' Time are probably best remembered for the involvement of The Charlatans' Martin Blunt and for a rather misguided cover version of 'Pump It Up' insisted upon by their record company. Rhythm however reveals them to have been a band capable of terrific performances and great songs in their own right, and really one of the great should-have-been's of the '80s charts. Leaving aside the unfortunate Costello cover that begins the album it's a tremendous splash of mod pop, from the walking-on-sunshine style effervescence of 'Here Is My Number', the exuberant classic choruses of 'Feels Like It's Love' and 'Where The Rhythm Takes You', the jazzy 'Nothin' Else' (the highpoint for this reviewer),and two (fast & slow) versions of the cool 'Honey' that prove the old chestnut that if you speed up The Doors it sounds like The Stranglers, and just like in real life it's the faster version that wins hands down. 'The Girl That Touched My Soul', 'I Know What You're Thinking', 'Did I Tell You', and the other hit, the motown-esque 'Stop This Crying Inside' continue the level of quality; heartfelt vocal performances from Mark McGounden, snappy sharp jazzy soul bass (is there any better kind?) from Mr Blunt, but it's Fay Hallam's lead vocals and keyboards that really steal the show, a real talent. If the album has a weak spot it's the obligatory covers of 'You Gotta Move' and 'Boom Boom' that may have sounded better live at yer local mod night, but its more than redeemed by the 12" version of 'Feels Like Its Love' at the end, which is about as good as it all gets, I reckon.Well-packaged, good sleeve notes, great photos, great shirts...Makin' Time. Pop at its best. Brilliant.
www.acerecords.co.uk
Slav Tabernacle

ROBERT MITCHUM
Calypso is Like So (Revola; CD)
     Incoming…..! A rattling explosion of maracas (played, it looks like on the in-cover by Tommy Steele's elder borstal-greaser brother. Yeeps! that's MITCHUM!)
     Yeeps ! Indeed…Life's chock full o' contradictions and dichotomies ain't it? Imagine Hemingway softly crooning Carpenter's songs, or Bukowski doing a 'please please please' down on his knees and getting all soul brother…Well, that's sort of the effect of copping a hold of this CD in one hand, a glass of fiery rum in the other, a fat cuban cigar in the other and a bongo-hipped woman poured into a scarlet satin dress in the other…SAYYY! How many hands do you need to be cool anyway? OK, the Cope may have written that line about the Mitch, 'I've never seen a more dignified man in my life' but maybe he wasn't aware of this collector's item reissue of Caribbean tongue-in-cheekery, 'cos some of that dignity wobbles a bit, but then you can imagine Mitchum knowing exactly what he's shaking his maraca at. Dignity bounces back then? Ahh phooey, who cares, this disc is way cool and way entertaining.
     The roguish one lines up all the best double entendres for a typical calypso outing of standards which has him wondering where his watch has gone (last thing he remembers he was with this girl and he can still hear his timex-a-ticking somewhere), advising us beauty is only skin deep, reminding us the fairer sex always holds the trump cards (usually 5 of 'em), and puzzling over his children finding him so ugly and dismayed over their lack of manners on the infectious 'Mama look-a-boo-boo'. Yeah, it may be a tad unfortunate that he tries to ape a proper Caribbean accent, but that just adds to the preposterousness, and this LP is just that and FUN, take it seriously at your peril, even if Mitchum may have.
     Best, best thing on it though is the Duane Eddy on speed echo guitar version of the bootleg whiskey runnin' 'Thunder Road'… a sorta ROCKabilly that quickly changes lanes into cheesy listening country. But are you loaded? (natch), Can you BELIEVE yer in a palm leaf shack out way, way back? Then this could be for you, but be wary, as the love & hate knuckled one sez; 'You know what the average Robert Mitchum fan is? He's full of warts and dandruff and he's probably got a hernia.' 
     Advertising is like so, yes?
www.revola.co.uk 
Rock Wagram

RICK NELSON
Another Side Of Rick / Perspective (Ace; CD)
     Ok, up front this CD reissue was put out in 1998 and is not therefore a new release. What's it doing here then? Well, the disc is what we might call a 'sleeper'. Firstly, put out by Ace as: 'the fifth pair of Rick Nelson's US Decca LPs back to back on one CD', it was simply part of a larger reissue programme of Nelson's work, its singular significance beyond this is lost in that context. Secondly, as a reissue, it predates the recent burgeoning of interest in '60s and early '70s soft pop, but is very much a part of that musical cannon. Thirdly, it has been largely shunned (see allmusic's impression of it for instance, who find it a difficult album to like) not least by Nelson himself, who felt that the music and orchestration swamped his voice (it doesn't actually, it just has parity with it, but from a singer's perspective, I can see his point). It's on a reliable and respected label and still easily available on CD. As such, for those (like me) who have felt compelled to dig deeper into the previously un(re)discovered world of orchestrated soft pop, this needs bringing to your attention.
     The CD pairs Nelson's albums Another Side Of Rick (1967) and Perspective (released in 1968, although recorded in 1966) both of which are very much out of keeping with Nelson's otherwise country rock style. They are both significant examples of '50s people making a pitch to sound contemporary in the latter '60s, most of which have been wrongly ignored for various reasons (e.g. artist acts out of character for what their label knows will sell with artist's name on it so don't bother to promote it; bid by artist to be taken more seriously in a changed climate by going introspective and failing etc.). I am considering putting together a very limited and importantly, free - i.e. no money changing hands - CDR collection of examples of this 'phenomenon' to raise awareness and interest in this music later this year). 
     Both LPs contained on the Ace CD are characterised by pacey, catchy and orchestrated pop pleasers (fans of Spinning Wheel Vol. 1 for instance will dig this). Another Side... kicks off with 'Dream Weaver', a snappy rhythmically Motownish (in parts) pop pearl with good hooks. Much the same pattern is used on the other tracks ('Don't Blame It On Your Wife' an ode seemingly to farmer's wives with its 'buy her a tractor instead' refrain!; 'Reason To Believe', 'Barefoot Boy', 'Suzanne On A Sunday Morning' etc.). 'Marshmallow Skies' is an excellent mid-paced sitar led, dreamy, orchestrated pleaser and 'Baby Close Its Eyes' is a slow, lilting and nicely orchestrated ballad. 'Promenade In Green' is a pleasant enough acoustic number and the only real duffers are 'Georgia On My Mind' and The Lovin' Spoonful's 'Daydream' - both generic and unnecessary. Otherwise a beauty of a pop album. Perspective features numbers by Harry Nilson and Randy Newman amongst others and is not too dissimilar in style to Another... 'When The Sun's Shined Its Face On Me' is a fast Chicago soul breezing type number, 'Without Her' (a Harry Nilson song) is a lovely mid-paced baroque tune with a cello rhythm. 'For Emily Whenever I May Find Her' features a nice picked acoustic guitar melody, finely lacing its way through this floating orchestral ballad. The only distraction from this pattern is a series of three Randy Newman songs which are played a la bar piano singer style ('Wait 'Til Next Year', 'Love Story', 'So Long Dad'). These are clever and poignant for the times they were written in as one would expect from a writer like Newman and indeed, are perhaps the very soul of the album in terms of its introspection, but they do rather detract from the groovier pulses that the other tracks offer. Perspective does however end with another (well known) Newman song, 'I Think It's Gonna Rain Today', which is given the full band treatment, and grooves along like the rest of the album, a great way to end. 
     Nelson's two albums here rather personify the move towards introspection and contemporary pop patterns in the late '60s by those wishing to shed their now outgrown chart singles personas (see for instance 'Grandad Takes A Trip' in Mojo magazine, No.85, December 200, pp.18-19). It also exemplifies the indifference with which many of these attempts were greeted with both at the time and even (until recently) in retrospect. I, like others, are eagerly awaiting the imminent (?) reissue of the Everly Brothers 1966 Two Yanks In England album on (Warner Brothers) CD and I think interest in this historically and aurally fascinating tangent of 60s music will only grow from here. 
www.acerecords.co.uk 
Paul Martin

RAW MATERIAL
Raw Material (Akarma; CD)
     In the SD #5 reviews section that space permitting didn't make the magazine (but can be found at the start of the reviews section on this site) I reviewed the Wah Wah records vinyl edition of this album. Here's what I said:
     'Raw Material's debut album from 1970 is now highly collectable in prog circles and Wah Wah's quality re-issue will save anyone who's interested an absolute bomb…As lengthy prog goes this definitely has its moments, notably the first track ('Time And Illusion'), but like many of the Brit bands of the era these guys thought the addition of flute, saxophone and some jazzy signatures would bring success. Alas, like so many other now heralded classics this didn't break through, hence its hefty collectors' price tag.'
www.akarmarecords.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

SAMUEL PRODY
Samuel Prody (Akarma; CD)
     The last time I got the same aural-assault as this was when I first heard Crushed Butler's 10'. These long-haired and bearded 20-somethings recorded this mega-rare record at Trident studios in 1972, produced by Mike Smith. I'm sure Smith wasn't happy with the loud, shambolic stew of Marshall amps and Robert Plant soundalike vocals, but I sure as hell am. And anyone else into early '70s 'long haired punk', 'primitive blues rock' and 'wah wah freakouts' will adore this blazing set of songs. Various members of Samuel Prody were playing mod and psych music a few years before, and on this, their schizoid hormonally charged album, they cross over to the heavy side with ease. They must have been blinding live. Music like this was from a short-lived growth period, where blues and psych became louder… and the young wannabe big time bands followed Zep and Sabbath. Samuel Prody aren't original, not even overly competent, but they sure as hell rocked!!! Pre-Stadium, dirty rock courtesy of the big smoke. Like Jesse Hector's vocals from the period, Tony Savva slips a bit of the old 'Laaaaannadddarrrrn' accent in…(Five or so years earlier Savva sang in London mod group A Wild Uncertainty, along with organist Eddie Hardin on who would later go on to The Spencer Davis Group). Wonderful!
www.akarmarecords.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

SHIVAS HEADBAND
Coming To A Head (Akaram; CD)
     'Kaleidoscoptic', the 1968 debut single, from the classic comp Texas Flashbacks Vol. 3 caught this Texan act at the very beginning of their career. Then they were a wonderfully imaginative psychedelic band. This, their second album from 1971, for the major part covers boogie-rock, bar-room blues and typical early '70s fare, and it's nothing to get excited over. Yet, the musical working of the EE Cummings poem 'Anyone' is a harpsichord and flute-led diversion into acid-folk, not at all unlike The Incredible String Band, and 'Someone' and the lengthy live bonus cut 'Mr Noname' almost capture a glimmer of the band's earlier psychier self. Unfortunately, the rest of the album consists of bog standard fare. Not a patch on the debut single - which does seem to be the case with more than a few bands from this era.
www.akarmarecords.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE SMALL FACES
Ultimate Collection (Sanctuary; CD) 
     Okay, it's a naff title. And probably everyone reading this has all of The Small Faces catalogue. But this double CD comes complete with a fact filled booklet annotated by #1 fan Paolo Hewitt, lots of cool photos and the CDs themselves are crammed with practically everything the band released. It's an ideal purchase for new and old fans alike. Even if you do have it all elsewhere, think of the pleasure of owning nearly everything on two CDs. (And if you also own Darlings Of The Whapping Wharf Launderette you will have everything). This is easily transportable and all in one place. From Decca right through the end. Think about it. It's not such a silly concept after all.
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE STATUS QUO
Picturesque Matchstickable Messages From The Status Quo
Spare Parts (both Sanctuary; double-CD)
     I don't wanna hear cries of 'But I have this already!'. For the asking cost of these two expanded editions of (The) Status Quo's first two albums you get a lot for your money. Both feature the original albums in both their stereo and mono forms - and there is a substantial difference to be heard on each - and both albums, the first especially, are loaded with bonus cuts.
     If Picturesque…is a bit of an uneven ride with quickly assembled cast offs and covers sitting uncomfortably next to the delights of 'Black Veils Of Melancholy', 'When My Mind Is Not Alive', 'Pictures Of Matchstick Men', 'Elizabeth Dreams' 'Paradise Flights' and 'Sunny Cellophane Skies' the copious amount of bonus cuts make purchase of this essential, even if you own the original album in another guise. Stray single sides like the 'Paint It Black' styled 'Make Me Stay A Bit Longer' and it's pop-psych flip 'Auntie Nellie' are one thing, but the BBC sessions that trace The Spectres' progression into The Status Quo are another, and a superb first time inclusion of these eagerly awaited sessions, especially the interview snippets with Brian Matthew, which are a riot, and proof of how similar the personalities of The Spinal Tap (once The Thames Men) and The Status Quo are! In describing how phasing works Rossi says: 'Two big tape recorders go round… and it sort of turns on… and I can't really explain…they just sorta go round and 'it each other.' 
     The earliest sessions are The Spectres' radio debut from September 1966 for The Saturday Show. An interpretation of 'I (Who Have Nothing)' may not be on par with American garage band The Druids Of Stonehenge's bluesy wail of a version, but it does display Rossi's quintessentially Brit psych way of phrasing. 'Neighbour Neighbour' on the other hand puts forward my notion that The Spectres (along with pre-Slade band The 'N' Betweens) were the closest the UK ever got to American garage-band angst - with a name change to Traffic Jam on a later session the Quo continued the snot-punk identity with a tinny organ dominated version of Pete Dello composition 'I Don't Want You'. Finally a 1968 radio session of Status Quo prove that although they had suddenly morphed into a melodic psychedelic band owing more to The Bee Gees than punk, when the mood took 'em they could still get mean and angry; the Quo's take on 'Gloria' is one of the most angry laid to tape!!!
     Spare Parts the follow-up album is a far more mature effort which saw the band mirroring The Bee Gees template and making their own nasally take on the British psychedelic sound! It really is one of the best albums of the era, and it's nothing short of a tragedy that due to the band being associated with 'what they became' the Quo are regarded with a certain disdain by certain factions. In my '60s Brit psych pantheon this is not far from the top. From the delicate orchestrated balladry of 'Are You Growing Tired Of My Love', the forlorn 'So Ends Another Life' and 'Poor Old Man' onto the bubblegum soul of 'Velvet Curtains', the fuzz tremelo of 'When I Awake' (a trippy, floating effort only a step down from The Monkees' 'Porpoise Song') and the pure psych of 'Mr Mind Detector' - the Bernstein swathes of brass and strings are a very nice touch - the Quo shine throughout. Masters of their craft!
     The bonus cuts are minimal with Spare Parts but the decent liners and press clippings make up for it, and then there's the fact that you have both the mono and stereo versions of a fabulous album. In two albums the Quo had made leaps and bounds, which is somewhat ironic. For the next two decades they would sell millions of albums on the strength of one or two boogie-rock progressions. But that shouldn't put anyone off their earlier work. These are 'must-haves' and if not open to the brilliance of the '66-'69 period of the Quo I hope that you take my word for it and run out and buy these. Immediately! If you like psych and are missing these, you're losing out. Big time! 
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

STRAY
Time Machine: Anthology 1970-1977 (Sanctuary; 2-CD) 
     In David Wells' band history annotation guitarist Del Bromham recollects that in 1966 'The Stray' were keen mods, shopped in 'Lord John' and adored The Small Faces. And as odd as it may seem 'the-once-a-mod-always-a-mod' philosophy is very easily applied to Stray. Their early efforts have a mod arrogance to them, and like fellow sounding drug inspired ex-mods The Open Mind, the use of fuzzy riffing is only a mask that hides the Small Faces, Who and Pretty Things inflections. As the band progressed they stayed soulful and even in the mid-part of the '70s they continued Who and Small Faces homages as well as adapting into a decent power pop unit plying the same harmony driven boogie that made a success of Badfinger… 
     Time Machine features cuts from Stray's six albums for Transatlantic, Dawn and Pye recorded between 1970 and 1976. 'All In Your Mind' from the self-titled '69 debut rides the same repetitive fuzz riffing as The Open Mind do with 'Magic Potion', or the sound Notting Hill bands like Hawkwind (who supported Stray when Hawkwind Zoo) and The Pink Fairies made their name from. Stray were 17 when they recorded their debut and the heavy wah-wah, power chords and general gusto are more down to youthful confidence than ability. In fact, the most was made of a few chords. And it just sounds great -- a perfect blend of amphetamine fuelled ex-mod, psychedelic and hippy sci -fi time travelling rock! The second album Suicide gets a bit more lyrical, a mellotron is used to magnificent effect and the band further their debut with a sound that owes both to the American West Coast and The Pretty Things SF Sorrow and Parachute era, with some subtle tempo changes, and Steve Gadd's youthful and passionate Phil May-esque (with added South London accent) vocal approach. 'Jericho' tries to make a deep statement whereas the angered long-haired punk of title track 'Suicide', a sludgy , heavy, Hendrix riffed monster with Beefheart-like vocals gives Edgar Broughton a run for their money. Ever noticed how in vogue Native Americans were amongst rock lyrics in the 1970s? Queen wrote about 'em, so did Babe Ruth, and here Stray have the subtly named 'Move That Wigwam' (presumably inspiring acolytes Iron Maiden to write 'Run To The Hills' a decade later). There's a PhD thesis in this subject! Actually, to Stray's credit they tackled subjects other than the normal run of stuff (birds, booze and life on the road) that dominated the songs of other bands.
'Suicide' is a weird one; it's an anti-racism message from the pointof view of a black guy, but ends up advocating everyone topping themselves!: 'Black and white and green [green?!] and yellow/Fire the gun - aim don't miss/End your life - death is bliss'. And they don't even play it backwards either... Weird huh?
     Follow up Saturday Morning Pictures saw a gentler soulful, country styling akin to the Stones or Faces creep in on 'Our Song' whereas 'Mama's Song' is a drivin' soulful rocker somewhere between The Shadows Of Knight's 'My Fire Dept Needs A Fireman' and the mid-60s mod/pop-art that first ignited The Stray into being. 'Alright Ma!' (from Mudanzas (1973)) reuses the riff of 'All In Your Mind' and 'I Can See For Miles' and combine them with a catchy boogie hook. The strangest thing is 'Come On Over' from the same album which sounds identical -- AND I MEAN IDENTICAL -- to Oasis 2003! Gallagher brothers you must hear this! Although Move It does feature a few boogie-rockers that tread a pedistrian path, such cuts as 'Mystic Lady' show that Stray still possessed a love of '60s Beatles power-pop and melody. Soul song 'Get It Up' further inidicates that old mods never die, they just grow their hair. They may have been long haired guys with centred parted hair and 'taches, but at heart they were still clearly a pop band. Move It is featuires a wealth of material that is easily on par with Badfinger and Raspberries. By the next album Stand Up as well as rockin' in true American style Stray had also developed into a quality pop-rock band. The soulful 'Stand Up And Be Counted' is an amazing piece of '70s pop. However, by Houdini (the last featured album on this set) the band had become strictly mainstream rock, suitable for the US audience that their label was aiming to impress (which still sounds pretty good - JF) 
     Punk killed Stray, but as David Wells points out in his liners the likes of The Damned were a staunch followers proving that tight trousers and spikey short hair didn't instantly kill long hair and flares. And the new school punks didn't really detest the old guard! Stray embraced both mod and punk, after and before each movement. They weren't just another '70s rock band forgotten by the annals of time. That's for sure.
www.sanctuarygroupmusic.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills and Jane Farrell

SUMMER WINE
The Fabulous Summer Wine (Angel Air; CD)
     Though you may not have heard of them, Summer Wine was a supergroup of sorts, counting among its membership legendary producer Mike Hurst, Castaways and Harmony Grass main man Tony Rivers, Ray Fenwick (Spencer Davis Group, Ian Gillan Band), and session cat John Perry. Due to Rivers' profound influence, Summer Wine carried on the harmony tradition of The Four Freshman and The Beach Boys. The results are often glowing on The Fabulous Summer Wine, a disc of mostly covers and some originals recorded in the early '70s. 
     The boys not only do most of the cover versions justice, but actually improve upon classics like The Lovin' Spoonful's 'She's Still A Mystery' and The Beach Boys' 'Take A Load Off Your Feet,' as Hurst's production values add some tantalizing chord changes and dazzling harmonic structure. Other standouts are their takes on 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love?', 'One Fine Day,' and 'Do You Wanna Dance' (the latter featuring some fine Dennis Wilson-esque lead vocals from Rivers), along with a gorgeous version of the traditional 'Shenandoah'. The band also displays fine taste by covering Ian Thomas' 'Painted Ladies' and Roy Wood's 'Nancy Sing Me A Song'. Of the originals, Fenwick's 'Sound Of Summer's Over,' with its lilting melody and mournful farewell to our favorite time of year, was once voted by none other than Kingsley Abbott as one of his favorite harmony songs of all-time, and 'Ode To A Steel Guitar' is a cool, country-flavoured departure. 
     There are early versions of several of these songs added as bonus tracks, most of which were good enough to have been released just as they were. The Fabulous Summer Wine is an essential disc to any connoisseur of harmony music in general, and Beach Boys fans in particular.
www.angelair.co.uk
David Bash

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Dream Babes Vol. 4: Go Girl (RPM; CD)
     Once again the dream team (RPM's Mark Stratford, journo Kieron Tyler and all round supporter of fem sounds, writer and key member of St Ettienne, Bob Stanley) pull together another mixture of girl group sounds, chirpy soul and models and actresses having a bash at popdom. And it's as strong as ever. Two cuts from Twiggy display that if not a strong singer her voice was as cute as her face, whilst Canadian born Avenger actress Linda Thorsen (nee Tara King) displays a sexy purr of a voice, which really is bloody good. Alongside the likes of Coventry schoolgirls The Orchids - who under the tutelage of Shel Talmy closely imitated the American girl group sound - are some later period gems: 'I Can Hear Music' by The Breakaways is taken from their 1969 Mark Wirtz produced album Come Back And Shake Me and from 1967 their soulful harmony rendition of Mike Leander's 'Sacred Love' is also pretty captivating; the unreleased 1968 offering from Janie Jones 'The Time Has Come To Choose' has a moody, almost psychedelic production, which is quite wonderful; Antigua-born Paula Parfitt's soulful performance of 'Love Is Wonderful' from 1969 does a superb job of replicating the American production; Jacki Bond's cool version of 'Reviewing The Situation' from the hit musical Oliver is spiced up nicely with a funky drum beat, pumping Hammond, a rasping sax solo and some driving bass lines. Finally, from 1973 The Chantelles' 'Another Time Another World' marks the demise of the girl group sound into soft-rock, with the powerful voiced Riss Chantelle turning in a stellar performance. By then the girl sound was dead, but like the women who once sang it, it had matured. Another nice trip down the by-ways and highways of the oft-neglected British ladies' output.
www.rpmrecords.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Second Glance Through The Looking Glass - Rare And Onscure British Psychedelia 1967-1970: Incredible Sound Show Stories Vol.16 (Dig The Fuzz; LP, 500 only).
     If there were a Sixties reissuers academy of fame or roll of honour or some such, the Dig The Fuzz label would be at the top. For ten years or so they have been turning out consistently fine volumes in the ISSS series and Vol.16 is no exception. There are one or two that have been recently exhumed elsewhere (Snappers 'Smiley's Tram' on Syde Tryps Vol. 7 LP, Tapestry's 'Happiness' on Spinning Wheel Vol. 1 CD and John Deen & The Trakk's 'Kavind' on just about everything) but for the most part these are fresh goods to the reissue market.
     Taiconderoga's double sided winner tops and tails the album ' Speakin' My Mind' is a great acid fuzz guitar fest with a John Kongas's 'He's Gonna Step On You Again' Burundi type drum pattern. This sounds like nothing less than a Band of Gypsies era Hendrix fan club tribute, a storming piece of acid rock. It's flip (on Beacon BEA 143 from 1969 45 fans!) is a cracking take on Tom Pepper's 'Whitchi Tai To'. This continues in similar vein adding the repetition of the chanted title over the top. Oddly, this could also be heard as a piece of proto glam rock (think Slade or The Sweet on downers!) and may sit as well on a Junkshop glam comp as here.
     Other standouts include Matchbox's (no not the neo pop-abilly rebels) 'Run Much Faster' which features a cool little bass riff, a catchy chorus and comes on like early Deep Purple with its overtly John Lordish keyboards, commercial but also very underground! Adam & Dee's 'Question Of Childhood' is a fab west coast sounding number with luscious Brian Auger-like keyboard sounds and a big swelling dual vocal line about it being 'Jenny's Day'. It's also the second 45 on the Tangerine label (1969). Christopher's 'The Race' is a delightful light and catchy late 60s pop keeper dealing with the futility of living life as a competition whilst The Boots stick theirs in to a tuff-enough rendition of 'You Better Run' (more fuzzed up than the In 'B'Tweens version). Elsewhere there are a trio of progressive pop, harmony chorused pleasers in The Empty Vessels 'Low Toby', Revolver's 'Imaginations' and Majority One's 'Friday Man'. Peter Holm contributes a fine rolling and moody folk-popper in 'You Will Be Mine' and all-black UK group Black Velvet prove there is still more untold history in the development of Sixties sounds to be unearthed with their 'Clown'. All in all a great collection, and another testament to a truly inspired dedication to quality control.
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Space Girl And Star Man: Eccentric British Soundwaves 1970-1973 (Queen Victoria, LP, 400 only)
     The Queen Vic is one of the Dig The Fuzz team's side project white labels (see also Paranoid, Wolfrilla etc.). And here we have what is presumably the follow-up to the 'Here Lies Ebeneezer Goode' collection of a few months back. This time round, the feel is far more even and the styles more balanced. With some exceptions (which I will come to shortly), the general feel is one of progressive pop which chugs along quite nicely on minimalist riffs whilst dollops of bluesy acid guitar intersperse the verses and form the bridges. Examples are a complete re-working of Paul Simon's 'Save The Life of My Child' by Mighty Hard, Eastwood's 'Gypsy', Wolfrilla's 'Come Tomorrow' and Freedom's 'Man Made Laws' (a protest against greed and selfishness). All of which are perfectly enjoyable, but none of which really stands out.
     The winners this time round include both sides of the Laurels 1971 PYE 45 'Underground', a cool light pop mover with a nice vocal that could easily be three years older and 'The Devil's Well'. On one level this is a great progressive vocal harmony number that could as easily date from '68, and on another, because of its overdubbed stomping effect sounds like emergent glam rock! Luv Machine's 'Everything' from '71 is excellent. A great fuzzy guitar, smashing vocal pattern and insistent riff, again it could be three years older. Paul St John effectively posits 'was God an astronaut?' in his 'Flying Saucers Have Landed' which picks up where Chris Hodge's 'We're On Our Way' left off on the Ebeneezer comp; Whilst we're aiming at the stars Eastwood's second (and better) outing here 'Living To Learn' is more science fiction fantasy married to a great tune and introduced by the most charming oscillator effect! Lastly, Rainbow Family's 'Travellin' Lady' from '72 has great jerky fried guitar bits throughout and an even better vocal hook and grooves along really well.
Apart from two or three cool number on Ebeneezer, 'Space Girl...' is a better all-round attempt than its predecessor to round up some early 70s goodies with an acid / psych-rock slant. More even and accessible, it's certainly worth some needle time, fans of the Legend Of Mind CD collection at least should certainly try it!
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
The Laurie Records Story: Volume 1 (Ace; CD)
     Laurie is one of the labels, if not the label, that sums up what America meant before The Beatles. 'A Teenager In Love' (Dion & The Belmonts), 'A Little Bit Of Soap (The Jarmels), 'Runaround Sue' and 'The Wanderer' (Dion) and 'He's So Fine' (The Chiffons) are true classics of he pre-Brit Invasion tracks, and will be remembered for eternity. This was music that may have been made during the cold war paranoid era, but somehow managed to attain an air of innocence that unfortunately hasn't been achieved since. The disc continues chronologically tracking the label's successes and near-misses. The Chiffons continually shine through ('One Fine Day' and the later symphonic 'Sweet Talking Guy' astounding) and The Four Pennies in a lesser-way also encapsulate the cheery notion of big production pop discs. By the turn of 1964 productions became more soulful and Dean And Jean's 'I Wanna Be Loved' is a solid R&B/pop crossover, and of course, by 1966 'post-Brit Invasion' the label hit with The Barbarians' reply to the long haired army. 'Are You A Boy (Or Are You A Girl)?' is one helluva moronic ode sung from the viewpoint of a broad shouldered white-collared, DA'ed worker!!! From this point on Laurie records continued to adapt: The Royal Guardsmen may have hit with a garage-novelty, but The Music Explosion, and The Balloon Farm's psychedelic masterpiece 'A Question Of Temperature', marked the label's further move into new dimensions. 
www.acerecords.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills 

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Magpie: 20 Junkshop Pop Ads And Themes (RPM; CD)
     Don't let the old saying fool ya. Things really were better back then. Just take The Spencer Davis Group offshoot The Murgatroyd Band's theme tune for '70s ITV kids' magazine show Magpie. It was way too good for kids. Howabout the early '70s long running TOTP theme tune, adapted from CCS' (aka Alexis Korner under a hip moniker) fuzz fuelled, brass fused instrumental version of Led Zep's 'Whole Lotta Love'? Can it get better? Nope! It's the soundtrack to a generation of kids who lived for BBC1 Thursday night 7:30PM, and is also a piece of music of a calibre that you won't hear on TV today. And best of all, 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads' as sang by Tony Rivers for the theme of this incredible comedy show. A) Comedy is now nowhere near as good and B) Isn't this just the best piece of music that Rivers ever recorded? It's a form of anthemic pop that died when punk was born and The Wombles packed their trunks for nigh on 20 years! This is what Magpie is about, and in following the truly great Velvet Tinmine: Junkshop Glam with a set of TV and pop culture goodies (talking of Goodies, I think we need the theme tune from that great show included on the next volume) this will bring a big warm smile to the face of '30-something baby boomers like me who remember Texan bars and falling in love with both melodic pop and freakout instros from watching TV. A generation has been catered for!!!
www.rpmrecords.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE WAILERS
At The Castle / & Co (Big Beat; CD)
     The forefathers of garage-punk. The soulful fathers of the pioneering North West Sound! Soulful bespectacled geeks! The Wailers were all of these. They were also a very modern sounding group for 1961. When At The Castle was recorded every other band on the planet sounded as if they were still stuck in the '50s: The Wailers Hammond driven R&B workouts still sound timeless and exciting. This is thee ultimate party album. Norton re-issued this fabulous set of revue songs a year or so back, and Big Beat have now doubled it up with the groovy '63 follow-up The Wailers & Co, which continues in the same vein as the earlier live material, and features the archetypal 1961 version of 'Louie Louie' by Rockin' Roberts And The Wailers. Elsewhere there's Booker T styled organ workouts, some fun clean girly pop and frat stomps a-plenty. The Wailers wuz boss!!! The next roundup due out in a month will continue the saga… Essential!
www.acerecords.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE YELLOW PAYGES
Crowd Pleasers: The Complete Yellow Payges '67-'70 (Northshore Soundworks; CD)
     As Mike Dugo's Yellow Payges article in the coming Shindig! will testify, The Yellow Payges were a whole lot more than a one-shot garage-punk band. Taking over from The Palace Guard at The Hullaballoo Club, playing The Hollywood Bowl with Eric Burdon & The Animals, headlining a Mexican festival, making numerous teen-show TV appearances and pulling large crowds The Yellow Payges for three or four years, although suffering a few line-up changes, soldiered on to great effect - and more importantly made some magnificent discs! My personal faves are the punkish hard psych rocker b-side from 1969, 'The Two Of Us' and the modish power popper 'Home Again' (the 1970 flip of their rousing take of 'I'm A Man') which has the same quaint anglophile bent as fellow Californians Powder. Right from their debut 45 though - and garage fave - 'Never See The Good In Me' The Yellow Payges took on board a wide range of sounds starting off as an edgy garage-band, dabbling with gentle pop, bubblegum and splitting as a melodic, soulful heavy rock band. This labour of love CD compendium features the A and B sides of the band's 11 singles, and it deserves a place in everyone's collection. 
www.northshoresoundworks.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE BEST OF GET BACK VINYL RELEASES
     These guys in Italy reissue more vinyl than most people have hot dinners. And in Italy the average person has a lot of hot meals; so that's a lot of records. And what's good for us is that the majority of the material they license is top quality - especially now that they have a new imprint in conjunction with Sanctuary called Earmark.
     THE IMPRESSIONS compilation of their earliest sides can be heard on the repro of the Vee Jay compilation from 1964. For Your Precious Love...The Impressions With Jerry Butler isn't as half as great as the band would become, although when guitarist Curtis Mayfield took the helm on such songs as 'At The County Fair' the sweet soul music of his fragile youthful whisper points towards the unique, emotive talent that he would soon become.
     The Charly licensing deal has also laid way to some themed compilation of blues and jazz. LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS Trip On Blues features a charged selection of R&B pieces recorded in the early '60s whilst NINA SIMONE Sings Billie Holiday Blues is exactly what the packaging states. MEMPHIS SLIM At The Gates Of Horn is a an exact repro of the short in length, but full of music,1959 live blues album that is as exciting as piano led blues music ever got, and for jazzers MAX ROACH Again is a double album repro of the 1980 collection of live material from 1960 and 1961. Just as politically challenging, but somewhat more sprightly is the DESMOND DEKKER collection Israelites. All the '60s hits are here plus more, heralding Dekker as the late'60s West Indian #1 star. Of a slightly different ilk, but from the same politically charged raced period comes George Clinton's debut PARLIAMENT album Osmium, a brilliantly stoned soul/psych epic that signaled the weird and wacky way in which Clinton would continue (full review in previous Shindig! review).
     JAMES TAYLOR & THE FLYING MACHINE features a number of recordings that the infamous 1970s singer-songwriter recorded in 1967 - a year before he signed up with Apple. His plaintive, distinctive voice is already recognisable although the music veers from blue-eyed soul to R&B and garage-psych, rather than folk-rock. Nevertheless, it's quality material that should impress anyone who enjoys The Youngbloods or The Sons Of Champlin. And of course, James Taylor.
     Earmark continues its classic series with a further two KINKS albums (this time around the debut and Something Else) and BLACK SABBATH's and URIAH HEEP's debuts. Also continuing its dedicated release programme dedicated to one artist is the continued BERT JANSCH campaign, this time his stunning debut that was recorded in his kitchen in 1965 gets the vinyl overhaul; includes the UK mid-'60s anti-drug folk classic 'Needle Of Death'.
     Finally, featuring two albums of a more punky persuasion the current slew of reissues ends with a quality exact repro of THE DAMNED's debut Damned, Damned, Damned (featuring the original withdrawn Eddie & The Hot Rods back cover). 'Neat Neat Neat' and 'New Rose' along with The Damned's homage to Detroit rock make this the most exciting punk debut, and definitely one of, if not, the best. Paris 1974 is one of the numerous live/radio/demo etc albums of prime time NEW YORK DOLLS…and so ends another month in the busy release schedule at Get Back Records. If anyone can't stand CDs and wants decent compilations and repros on quality vinyl these guys offer the best service out there.
Jon 'Mojo' Mills