THE BYRDS
Preflyte (Sundazed; CD)
     The LP of Preflyte, released by Together Records in 1969, was long a collector’s item until the songs herein showed up on various Byrds compilations, but it’s nice to have this collection in its original form on this Sundazed reissue. These songs, originally recorded in 1964 and engineered by the legendary Keith Olsen, show the band to not quite be at the level they attained only a year later (the early version of ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ is the strongest evidence of that), but quite honestly several of these tracks are among the prettiest and heartfelt the band ever recorded, and are as warm as a summer’s night. If things had followed suit from here, Gene Clark may well have emerged as the leader of The Byrds, as he wrote seven of these tunes by himself and co-wrote a couple more with McGuinn. Preflyte opens with the McGuinn-Clark penned ‘You Showed Me,’ which was made famous by The Turtles five years later; the original is a bit faster, and much more the folk-rocker it was meant to be. Other true beauties are early versions of ‘Here Without You,’ ‘You Won’t Have To Cry,’ and ‘I Knew I’d Want You,’ the latter of which makes one wonder if The Moody Blues were listening to it when they thunk up ‘Nights In White Satin’. The boys rock pretty good on ‘You Movin’,’ and ‘For Me Again’ may be one of the best Byrds tracks of all time; it’s gentle warmth will envelope you like a favorite blanket.
     Preflyte may not be quintessential Byrds, but it certainly is an essential collection for any Byrds fan, or any fan of honest-to-goodness folk-rock.
www.sundazed.com
David Bash

THE FIVE AMERICANS
Progressions (Sundazed; CD)
     The Five Americans definitely hit their stride on their third album, Progressions, from 1968; it’s a sunshine pop delight! The opening track, ‘Stop Light,’ is as perfect a pop song as can be, with its tantalizing brew of irresistable melody lines, harpsichord fills, and counterpoint vocals. The next track, ‘Con Man,’ is a minor key masterpiece with exquisite harmonies that belie its disparaging subject matter. Other highlights include the very catchy confection, ‘Zip Code’ (which follows a similar path to the band’s huge smash ‘Western Union’ ), the sprightly psychedelic popper ‘Rainmaker,’ and a reprise of their hit of a year before, ‘Evol-Not Love’. You also get a couple of spirited covers of the Rascals’, ‘Come On Up,’ and ‘Somebody Help Me,’ previously made famous by The Spencer Davis Group and The Everly Brothers, among others.
     These guys have been a grossly overlooked band, known only for a few hit singles. Hopefully this reissue of Progressions will make strides towards changing that perception.
www.sundazed.com
David Bash

THE FLASHBACK FIVE
Selected Works 1991-‘95 (Grabaciones En El Mar; CD)
     This retrospective collection is well packaged and presented, and presents the excellent Flashback Five on CD for the first time. Unfortunately my Spanish isn’t good enough to translate the liner notes that detail the history of the Barcelona’s early ‘90s garage champions. The band covered classic Nederbeat, (‘From Above’) UK R&B (‘Midnight To Six’) and ‘60s US garage, wrote some cool originals in a mixture of their favourite styles (‘I Have Seen A Woman’ and many others) and went on to pursue a lighter but more psychedelic direction.
     This release includes tunes from all of the band’s vinyl releases, mixing up their earlier ‘60s garage phase with the later, more psychedelic flavours of the Not Exactly A Poem LP. At the time of release it seemed that the band had made a major change of direction, but on this comp the songs sit well together and don’t seem to be so different after all. Ahh, the passing of time mellows us all. The band’s attempts to move forward was admirable; but I prefer the garagier cuts, not because the psych material is weak but because the band were still moving towards a style they were truly comfortable with when they called it a day.
     In a previous review I criticised Alfredo Pilou’s lead vocals. I take it back –Alfredo is in fine form here, and compares favourably with most of today’s overblown screamers!
     This album is a fine introduction for those who are unfamiliar with the band, and a handy CD for those who want to replace their scratched vinyl. As an added bonus there are two bonus live cuts from ‘94. Marc Argenter’s ‘Trouble, Misery and Pain’ is particularly good, with great organ.
www.grabacionesenelmar.com
Phil Suggitt

GRUPA 220
Slike (Radioactive; CD)
     This cute lil' Yugoslavian four-piece (apparently) recorded this wanky, convoluted, lame 'n' lite progressive snore in '74. Ha, s'pose 'Kraljica' (a wimpy stab at the Sabs) and the title track bite some (I mean, to the extent a toothless Chihuahua can), but ultimately, ol' Slike here's a stone-cold letdown.
     Original copies in the Suzy label prob'ly go for good bread today, eh?
www.radioactiverecords.com
Rex Thompson

THE IDES OF MARCH
Vehicle (Collector’s Choice; CD)
     It would be easy to write some revisionist history and say that fans were outraged when The Ides Of March eschewed their garage pop sound in favour of something more along the lines of Blood, Sweat, & Tears (they’re…using…HORNS…for God’s sake!), but the truth of the matter is that in their garage music period of 1966-‘67, relatively few people had heard of them outside of their hometown of Chicago, Illionis. It wasn’t until they signed with Warner Brothers and released the 45, ‘Vehicle’ that they broke big, as that song reached #2 on the Billboard charts. The album from which this song comes, Vehicle is suitably filled with solid Blood, Sweat, & Tears inspired numbers, but the band shines even further when they step out of the box, as they do on the harmony-filled ‘One Woman Man’ and a couple of covers which they adapt to their own style: a medley of Crosby, Stills, and Nash’s ‘Wooden Ships’ and Jethro Tull’s ‘Dharma For One’ (ok, name another band who’d have thought to pair those two songs!), and an extended take on Eleanor Rigby called ‘Symphony For Eleanor’, on which they rock out pretty good!
     Fans of the early period of The Ides Of March might be a bit put off by this album, but if you’re a fan of horn-inspired, soulful rock ‘n’ roll, then Vehicle is definitely just the ticket!
www.collectorschoicemusic.com
David Bash

JULY
July (Air Mail Recordings; CD)
     Without doubt, the July LP is still one of the rarest and most sought-after artifacts from the late ‘60s psychedelic era, despite securing a US release. While the album is not one of the best the genre has had to offer, it certainly holds its own as a cool slab of acid-drenched pop. Most of the songs on July will remind the listener of early Pink Floyd 45s, and they’re replete with the customary backwards guitar solos, tabla fills, and tremulous vocals. Fans of psych-pop will delight in lysergic slices like ‘My Clown,’ ‘Hallo To Me,’ and ‘A Bird Lived’. Many cuts contain appropriately trippy imagery, such as ‘Dandelion Seeds,’ and ‘Move On Sweet Flower,’ and ‘To Be Free’ is kinda like July’s answer to ‘I Am The Walrus’. Plus, you’ve gotta love a song with a title like ‘Friendly Man’; not hard to figure out what would make him “friendly” in that era, eh?
     OK, here’s the good and the bad with respect to Air Mail reissues.     The good is that they’re all done in “LP style,” and it’s very cool to see this cover in all its splendour looking like a miniature LP. The bad is that the liner notes are in Japanese, so most of you won’t be able to read them. Perhaps that’s apropos here- as with most acid trips, you can simply imagine what the liners say!
     All in all, a nice package which supports a pretty solid album.
www.airmailrecordings.com
David Bash

THE KNICKERBOCKERS
Rockin’ With… (Sundazed; CD)
     If you took a vote on the most accurate Beatle cop of all time, it’s a sure bet that ‘Lies’ by The Knickerbockers would finish at #1. When ‘Lies’ was first played on the air in late 1965, a lot of people did think it was The Beatles, and some DJs didn’t exactly discourage this. The truth is, The Knickerbockers were based a long way from Liverpool, in New York state to be exact, and they found a small dose of fame 3,000 miles further west in Los Angeles, where they played several marquis gigs on The Sunset Strip. As it turns out, ‘Lies’ was their biggest hit, and so they will forever be thought of as ‘Beatle rip-offs’, but as in most cases where the mind reduces complex thought to a small number of bits of information, The Knickerbockers were more than a one-trick pony. The new Knicks compilation on Sundazed, Rockin’ With, goes a long way towards proving this.
     Rockin’ With contains 14 Knickerbockers’ classics, all presented in pristine mono (most Knick comps have these songs in stereo or-yecch!- fake stereo). While some tunes like ‘Just One Girl’ follow down a similar Mop Top path to ‘Lies’, there’s also the Association-like harmonies of ‘I Can Do Better’ (written by Seals and Crofts, no less!!), the intricately arranged ‘I Love,’ ‘Rumors, Gossip, Words Untrue,’ and ‘Give A Little Bit,’ and the garage-rock classics ‘One Track Mind’ and ‘High On Love’.
     This is definitely an old-school Best Of collection; with 14 songs clocking in at under three-minutes each, this could have been released as an LP back in the day. You’ve gotta love that, and you’ll definitely love The Knickerbockers!
www.sundazed.com
David Bash

McKINLEY ‘SOUL’ MITCHELL
The Town I Live In: The One-Derful! Years (Shout!; CD)
     Blessed with a soul man’s voice that had both a laconic Sam Cookishness to it, a country glissando on slower sides, and an attack as hard as a Wilson Picket on others, McKinley ‘Soul’ Mitchell has been a well kept secret within soul circles (and Japanese vanity labels) until now. Chicago’s One-derful Records has been a northern soul citadel for many years but to the wider world probably means nothing. Here we have Mitchell’s One-derful label mid-‘60s sides all in one place. Tracks like ‘You’re Not Gonna Break My Heart’ are fantastic floor fillers with a tough vocal attack and raw backing that could just as easily have been a garage rock track in another dimension. Known mainly for his ‘The Town I Live In’ Mitchell recorded for many labels and struggled until his death in 1986 to find wider recognition. Many of the toughest sounding sides here like ‘I Think You’re That Girl’ and ‘Stop Crying Over You’ call to mind Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland in the same period and that is a big compliment. Then again I can detect Solomon Burk’s influence in there as well. If you like tough sounding mid 60s soul, this is a great place to go.
www.cherryred.co.uk/rpm/shout.html
Paul Martin

MOUZAKIS
Magic Tube (Radioactive; CD)
     Radioactive’s website cites a quote from a critic who noted that: ‘Mouzakis has to be heard to be believed. They are totally unique...and as a trio, they accomplish more in their sound than groups double their size!’. I would not disagree with that. Hard to pigeonhole, they sound like a hard funkin’, hard riffin’ unit that relies principally on a very full drum sound and a driving rhythm guitar. This is defined by opener ‘Magic Tube’. This is followed by a pointless rendition of ‘Rock Around The Clock’. I say pointless which it is really, but listen to the power in those side / floor toms and the bass drum pound, very hefty indeed! Other numbers like ‘White Horse’ employ keys (but again listen to the power of the drums!). Amongst others, Mouzakis supported Redbone and it is that band that perhaps they most closely approximate, but with ball-breaking drums!! If you like a funky rockin’ sound (and big drums of course!), then this is most definitely worth a punt, a good album that grows with each play.
www.blueorchardrecords.com
Paul Martin

PLAGUE
X Tapes 1976-1981 (Bin Liner; CD)
     Ahh, Bless. This is my generation, but I can’t remember ever looking that young! The Plague were a punk band that started fashionably in 1976 rather than ‘77 and were too young to be called wagon jumpers, so that’s all credible. They held the record for the longest residency at the Roxy Club and were even disposed to record a 45 called ‘In Love’ which wasn’t a Rotten-esque rant against the emotion but a celebration of it, albeit with the required snotty London accent everyone affected back then. Some of these songs are nicely pop without losing their punkyness. ‘Wimpy Bar’ (see, MacDonalds did not always hold sway in the UK!) is one such tune, it even has a bloody guitar break in it! If the Newly-esque accent was tamed on the singer, some of these songs would still stand up today to an extent. As they are they stand as a commemorative vignette of a time and place past. Nonetheless, I don’t think anyone in this group has anything to be embarrassed about. It’s a pity they didn’t get to develop further, they clearly had potential. The Plague were clearly a lot better than many of their contemporaries and by the end had become pretty adept players (e.g. on ‘Dog Days’) and the singer had dropped the accent. They are about to reform and record again in the light of punk’s ongoing popularity says the liners. Well, if you have an audience why not I suppose. As a historical document this is useful, if you have a ‘70s punk side to your musical taste, then this one is as good as any and better than some.
www.originalplague.com
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Boobs (RPM; CD)
     The influentialRecord Collector glam article has certainly led to a major reappraisal of early ‘70s Brit boot boys, androgynous aliens and mascara wearing brick layers. On this, the sixth comp of its kind, quirkier glam and related sounds follow, compiled by our pal Phil King, the guy who coined the now oft-used ‘junkshop’ term. There’re a few crossovers with Shindig big beard Rex’s freakrock encyclopaedic piece from #7 (to be concluded in #8) but also a few third rate Bolan and Bowie wannabes.Boobs may have lost a little of the impact of Velvet Tinmine but with stomping gems like ‘Turtle Dove’ (The Rats), ‘Wired Up’ (Hector), ‘Good Time Fanny’ (Angel) and the wonderful ‘Natural Gas’ (Paul Ryan) there’s still a lot to recommend.
www.rpmrecords.co.uk
Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Merseybeat (Sanctuary;2-CD)
     There’s always room for periodic review of a genre that everyone thinks so ubiquitous as not to need revisiting. Viper did this quite interestingly (from an archival perspective at least) in their trilogy of Unearthed Merseybeat discs. What Sanctuary seem to be doing though is reploughing the territory recently occupied by their Beat Beat Beat series. This does not advance the knowledge or interest in Merseybeat; it’s playing largely to the nostalgia market, I suspect .and I hope I’m not enough of a snob to rap their knuckles for that. Anything that curries interest in the golden decade can only be a good thing. Hence (and I need to state I just have the two promo CDs with the tracks lists, no contextual information) you don’t really need a deeply analytical review of the contents here. However, if you are intrigued by Merseybeat and have never really dived in, this pair of discs will suit you sir (or madam). It’s full of the obvious stuff, The Searchers’ ‘Needles & Pins’, Gerry & The Pacemakers’ ‘How Do You Do It’ etc., I needn’t go on. There’s a few lesser or unknown performers culled, presumably again, from the ranks of the Beat Beat Beat sets or other Sanctuary / Pye collections to add some depth for first timers; Jeannie & The Big Guys, Greta Ann, Paddy, Klaus & Gibson, The 5AM Event, The Masterminds are amongst these. A 50 track double CD of stuff (probably) on sale at mid price is perfectly fine for toe dipping into the genre, but I imagine beyond the interest of most readers here.
www.sanctuaryrecords.co.uk >Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Prog Is A Four Letter Word (Delay 68; CD)
     There’s nothing quite like prog rock to divide people; it can start, or as the case may be, abruptly end conversations. This release, the companion volume to the excellentFolk Is Not A Four Letter Word (www.shindig-magazine.com/reviews-mar2005-1.html), won’t change things; but the always interesting Andy Votel does recast prog rock as a funky, electronic concoction focusing on European, Turkish, Korean and Behind-The -Iron-Curtain releases, with a track apiece from England and Wales. The synth-pop of Caravan and their breed (a style I personally adore) has been pushed to one side with epic productions encompassing synths, tight drums and bass lines, ethnic instrumentation and space rock ala Gong (France’s The Visitors) taking centre stage. Not everything’s appealing, but the consistent Illes’ ‘Nem Erdekel Amit Mondsz’ is a kooky early ‘70s pop rock song with a wobbly synth line that sounds like the inside of a 2 year old’s brain.. Also worth mentioning are Nanco’s and 3 Urel’s re-interpreted trad Turkish sounds, Poland’s Breakout’s cinematic psychedelic pop, Bran’s haunting Welsh sung ‘Breuddwyd’, the syncopated heavy funky rocker ‘The Music Of Today’ by Germans Embryo, Pole’s Czerwone Gitary’s sinister ‘Coda’, Jean Claude Vanier’s grand Arabic sounds and Slav’s Drugi Nacin’s agreeable latin-tinged rocker. This is obscure music that will thrill collectors and enthral dance floor anoraks, but in the context of a pleasurable listening experience I’d rather put on my original copy of Caravan’sIn The Land Of Grey And Pink. Nevertheless, this is still a well put together collection of progressive musical styles that will appeal to contemporary shakers who shouldn’t really fine prog palatable. Glam is the next four letter word to be put under the microscope.
www.delay68records.co.uk
Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Warf Rat Tales (Avebury; CD)
     The original 1982/’83 Warf Rat Tales LP was a compilation of LA bands that rehearsed and recorded on basic equipment in The Last’s garage. The aim was to recoup some of the money that Last manager Gary Stewart had put into the band. This package collects the original 15 songs and adds 13 more, including extra songs by the original artists and some by bands who didn’t make the cut first time round. In essence it is a time capsule of a part of the early 80’s LA independent scene.
     This is lovingly packaged by people who care. In addition to the nifty graphics there are liner notes from original producer and Last keyboardist Vitus Matare, plus the original and amusing LP liners by Falling James. Modern pop luminary Jason Falkner also writes about the way the album deeply influenced his teenage self. He mentions that the bands were noticeably different from the norms of the time, with exotic names and song titles, such as 100 Flowers and ‘Creeping Coastline of Lights’. Indeed this compilation will attract many other people who grew up with this music and were inspired by its ‘otherness’. Others will buy the CD to check out some early recordings by one of the bands who went on to create a body of critically acclaimed work, such as the Rain Parade or Gun Club.
     Sometimes when you listen to a comp of a local scene you are remembering a great live show, or a top teenage moment rather than the actual music on the record. (I still play my old comp of 1980 Doncaster and Rotherham indie bands with affection, but I guess ‘you had to have been there)’.
     Local comps like this can be hard for the casual punter to listen all the way through, because there is such a grab bag of different styles.
     There are some good individual performances but not all the songs have stood the test of time. Many of the bands that sounded intriguing and cutting edge in 1983 now sound like rather ordinary New Wave/indie guitar rock. A good half of the songs do very little for me, and sound either dated or a little annoying. Other bands are featured here in early incarnations that show little indication that they would mature to produce some good pop records – The Wednesday Week tracks are a case in point. The best songs are from two of the best known bands. The Rain Parade’s three songs are a class above almost everything here, such as their great version of ‘Look Both Ways’ that is faster and jauntier than the LP cut. Similarly ‘Anything That’s Out There’ showcases The Last’s trademark jangle and heartfelt harmonies to great effect.
     Jason Falkner is absolutely right that records and bands like these were important in opening people’s eyes, ears and hearts to creative alternatives. Today, on a different continent in what seems a different world, only The Rain Parade, The Last and one or two other songs still move me as they might have done in 1983.
www.aveburyrecords.com
Phil Suggitt

THE WAY WE LIVE
A Candle For Judith
TRACTOR
Tractor
Worst Enemies
Before During And After (Ozit Records; CD)
     John Peel signed this North Country duo to his fledgling Dandelion label in 1971. Two albums were released over a two year period with a name change to Tractor made on the second. After a bright start nothing really happened commercially, but the band did become a huge draw on the festival circuit, also initiating and running their own Deeply Vale free festivals. Due to the Peel link, and in no part to the two albums being of a decent standard, the records have since become collector’s items, reaching three figure sums on online auctions.
     Tractor haven’t disappeared either and have even launched their own label specialising in Tractor and 1970s festival related bands. Alongside the two official albums are a number of odds and sods CDs that combine old recordings with newer material. In my opinion this is unwise, as although an able Arabic acoustic tinged contemporary festival band it’s the old stuff that we want.
     A Candle For Judith (1971) sees the duo weld the mechanics of heavy rockin’ Black Sabbath doom with acoustic folk-rock and Middle Eastern psychedelic ragas. It’s a decent blend that is effective throughout. Lovers of post-psych-embryonic-prog, hard rock and UK folk will all find something to savour, and if like me, all three genres appeal; you can’t lose. Marc Brierly’s guitar has a unique tone, and the production and mastering are punchy.Tractor (1972) continues in a similar vein with the gentle ‘Everytime It Happens’ dreamy folk quality and psych metaller ‘Make The Journey’ standing out in particular.
www.geocities.com/uheep2/ozit.htm
Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills

SHORTS
     RPM label sampler How’s About That Then is a random assortment of styles from the label’s roster. There’s some strong soul in Doris La belle’s ‘Groovin With Rosco’ and Eddy Young’s ‘A Little Bit On The Heavy Side’. Then there’s instro stuff with Brian Bennet, junk shop glam with Iron Virgin and MOR pop with Leo Sayer. I suppose if you haven’t come across the label before then this might serve as an introduction.
www.rpmrecords.co.uk
Paul Martin