AGINCOURT
Fly Away
ITHACA
A Game For All Who Know (both Acme Lion Productions; CD)
     Private pressing albums are usually more often than not disappointing artefacts rather than lost treasures… but these two albums, the product of two teenage hippy-come-nerds, John Ferdinando and Peter Howe, and female vocalist Lee Menelaus, are shy, unabashed, haunting achievements, that although lacking a solid production, feature good songs and musical performances. Genre wise they sit nicely between the psychedelic, acid-folk and the progressive pop movements.
     The trio had already released a 50 copy private pressing, Alice Through The Looking Glass, as the soundtrack for the local theatre's production before working on Fly Away (the Alice… album has recently been issued on Tenth Planet). Recorded on Peter Howe's reel-to-reel this naive and gentle music portrayed the idealism and approach to recording that the trio would later elaborate on. The Agincourt album (Alice… was recorded without a moniker) was recorded in 1970 (on a slightly better home set-up) and later released on the boy's own label, Merlin. Here folky West Coast sunshine pop is combined with the childlike ambience of Syd Barrett-era Floyd, the type of fey psychedelic-folk that Peter Daltrey was perfecting with Fairfield Parlour and the eccentric middle-class musings of Caravan -- yet through technical inadequacy and an almost intentional under-production, Agincourt sound wholly different. It wasn't really until the '80s that lo-fi bedroom-pop became the norm... and the quirky oddball pop-folk of Belle & Sebastian is certainly of direct lineage. (Indeed, John and Peter may be viewed as forefathers of the type of ephemeral psychedelic intelligent pop that is now back in vogue). By '73 the boys had changed name to Ithaca (but were essentially the same core unit with extra players). Again the album was printed up and 99 copies were released, making it one helluva progressive rarity! It's far stronger than Fly Away too, ditching fey folk, for The Moody Blues' and Caravan's progressive pop, with an underlying essence of Syd. The production is stronger and the instrumentation more ornate. Consisting of only six songs, lengthy, spectral musical passages fill much of the album… and the atmosphere created is, I'll say it again, haunting (in a kinda desolate Wuthering Heights way).
     These albums are indeed something special, and their homespun nature adds so much. There's no way they would've sounded the same if made or played by a touring band, burly rockers or London social scenesters… it's the music of thoughtful, corky kids, fortunate enough to discover their creativity at a particularly fruitful time for music. Well worth ordering if dreamy psychedelic music appeals…
sales@acmerecords.co.uk 
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

BIG BOY PETE
Margetson Avenue (Gear Fab; CD)
     This 23 tracker is comprised of Pete Miller demos recorded between 1966 and 1968 and named after the road in Norwich in which he lived for 25 years. As Miller himself notes "...this is one for the serious collector. When you make a demo you don't spend a lot of time fiddling with the sound. You gotta get the inspiration down as fast as you possibly can...Technical details and performance perfection take a back seat, hence the audio infidelity!" This fairly sums up what you can expect here, first-take demos with the absence of any production values (or drummer in some cases). Some of those that work best are opener 'Nothingess Minus The Sun', 'Little Men' and 'The Painter'. 
     In general if you are a fan of the Big Boy's other work, this one will have an appeal also, but rather as an end piece for completists than a starting point for the curious.
www.swiftsite.com/gearfab
Paul Martin

JOHNNY CASH
The Sun Records Years (Fruit Tree; 3-CD)
     Well, what can I say? This does exactly what it says on the tin. Sixty - count 'em! - tracks recorded for the legendary Sun label in Memphis, Tennessee from 1954 up to his signing to Columbia in 1958. A bunch of classics are here - 'I Walk The Line', 'Folsom Prison Blues', 'Luther Played The Boogie', 'Get Rhythm', etc - along with many lesser-known but equally awesome recordings. With Cash's profile higher than ever, even without his death pushing him into the headlines again, why this Italian label are only making this available in a limited edition of 1500 copies is a mystery. So get it while you can. 
Paul Marsh

ROKY ERICKSON AND THE ALIENS
Don't Knock The Rok! (Norton; CD)
     Roky Erickson: lead singer/wailer with the legendary 13th Floor Elevators…psychedelic journeyman… casualty…psychiatric inmate… Martian… one of the great voices of rock 'n' roll… and survivor! Roky, unlike the similarly branded Barrett (who went into seclusion as the '60s came to a close), soldiered on, ditching trippy psych and reinvented himself as a hard-rocker, writing songs full of the imagery and iconography of vintage horror films. This influence is evident on Don't Knock The Rok, which consists of a rehearsal for songs that had been recently written for the then forthcoming Roky Erickson & The Aliens album ('Bumble Bee Zombie', 'Things That Go Bump In The Night'… dig?). As an insight into Roky's jumbled mind, this is a valued source. Alongside working on the new hard-rockin' numbers (which sound powerful and tight here) the excited singer decided, without any due warning, or certainty that his band knew the songs, that it would be fun to play a magnitude of '50s rock 'n' roll and pop songs in between honing his new works - and the "oldies" out weigh the material the band should have been working on!
     This 23 track CD contains much of the event, warts and all. For die-hard fans (whom like Brian Wilson followers accept that times have been hard on their hero) will find much to enjoy on this erratic dip into Roky's comfort-aid penance for golden oldies. The band understandably fumble their way through the unrehearsed tunes, often in the wrong key, but Roky gives it his all, singing loud and clearly, with much energy and passion A confident performance, for someone fresh from heavy meds at the loony bin! For those who understand "the great bearded one" this will be a pleasant surprise.
http://www.nortonrecords.com/lps7.html 
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

ETERNITY'S CHILDREN
The Lost Sessions (Gear Gab; CD)
     Fans of this Mississippian band will enjoy this odds-and-sods-raggle-taggle-15-track-set of various sessions the band cut from '66 right through to '71 - included are their first studio attempt at the A&M debut 'Rumours' and 'Wait And See' 45; seemingly earlier recordings in the form of melodic garage covers of 'A Hard Hard Year' (The Hollies) and 'A Taste Of Honey'; a host of easy pop Californian-style (including versions of Jimmy Webb's 'Girl's Song' and 'Didn't We' and Randy Newman's 'Just One Smile') whilst the later sessions see the band move towards a white soul style (Sly Stewart's 'Somebody's Watching You', 'Down The Isle') and country pop (the highly atmospheric 'Railroad Trestle In California'). Lauro Nyro's 'Woman's Blues' (the latest cut, and chronologically the last on this CD) although taken from a hissy acetate and sonically suffering proves to be a well handled ambitious psych-soul-jazz crossover -- and although more akin to Blood, Sweat Or Tears, Santana or Sons Of The Champlin than the Cali-style soft/sunshine pop the band are associated with -- shows what they could have been capable of if they continued.
     If you love the superior Rev-Ola Eternity's Children CD (consisting of the official releases) and fancy hearing the unreleased material this is where to stop next. It's all over the shot, but definitely not lacking in quality.
http://www.swiftsite.com/gearfab
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

FEVER TREE
San Francisco Girls (Gear Fab; CD)
     The great Fever Tree debut, renamed after the superb hit disc 'San Francisco Girls', is bolstered with seven bonus cuts -- which are practically all from 1978, and their smooth white-boy-jazz-funk sounds completely out of place on this disc. Yacks! Thankfully the album itself (as I'm certain all Shindiggers know, and not need be told) is a gem! The sound quality on this Gear Fab re-issue is also superb. But the poor design, scrappy liners and unrelated bonus cuts make this an unwise purchase for those who already own the See For Mills twofer Fever Tree/Another Time Another Place. However, if you find this cheap and are new to the band be prepared for a dose of supreme Texas Psychedelia (the band's sound veers from caustic fuzz, Bonniwell-like dark crooned vocals and superb orchestration [the arrangements were done by David Angel, who did a brilliant job with Forever Changes).
http://www.swiftsite.com/gearfab
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE GODZ
The Third Testament (Abraxas/ESP; CD)
     For fuck's sake! Perhaps that's the intended response, rather like a prototype for Throbbing Gristle, this is something that is done to you rather than voluntarily engaged with! Lester Bangs (blessed be his name!) saw The Godz as something primal out of which greatness might grow. Maybe it's me being thick then, as at its worst point (the 'Multitude' tracks) this just sounds like aural terrorism of the lowest kind. This was The Godz third album after the departure of Jay Dillon and sounds like and end game of sorts. This does has a definite appeal I'm sure to the outsider music types who might take warmly to the acoustic numbers (which aren't that bad at all comparatively) played on cheap (toy store?) barely tuned instruments. However if you can genuinely listen to this all the way through without flinching, or even for pleasure, you surely need psychotherapy! 'Radar Eyes' was their one saving grace and on this set they sound like fell from it big time! 
http://www.espdisk.com/esp1077.html
Paul Martin

HORSES
Horses (Rev-Ola; CD)
     Did Don Johnson -- the '80s legend of Miami Vice - really sing lead vocals on this incredibly rare 1969 White Whale album or was it a namesake? The all-important issue is still in dispute and according to Steve Stanley's liner notes Johnson doesn't brush off the rumour, answering "Possibly" to the claim of his rock 'n' roll past. If it is the sun-tanned one then, I love his voice. Whatever the outcome though, this incredibly rare album, if far from the brilliance of Buffalo Springfield Again and Moby Grape, is nevertheless a solid album-with-attitude. Put together by John Carter and Tim Gilbert, the writers of The Strawberry Alarm Clock's monster hit 'Incense And Peppermints', Horses were never anything more than a studio band who cut this album on a small budget, in record time, under less than agreeable circumstances. The album wasn't promoted and the band promptly fell apart, having never really ever begun. With an arrogant, over-sexed prima donna pumping out some well aimed arrogant vocals, sloppy but meaningful playing and a raw production, the album falters somewhere between bluesy biker rock, west coast acid rock and stoned country rock. And your SD head-honcho absolutely adores it. If you usually agree with my views on music, BUY NOW!
www.revola.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE JASMINE MINKS
The Revenge Of… (Rev-Ola; CD)
     A good part of Shindig's reviews are of retrospectives from obscure or ignored artists, and it's fair to say that in most cases, a lack of commercial success was not the result of any deficiency in the music they made. Here, though, is a notable exception. The songs contained in this (as usual with Rev-Ola) lavishly packaged history exemplify the sexless, sterile inertia of so much critically acclaimed guitar music in the mid-1980s. In one fell swoop, this compilation reminds me why I so often found myself lurching for the off switch during John Peel's show during 1985-86. At the time, some sections of the UK music press were lauding the likes of The Wolfhounds, The June Brides and this lot as the future of rock. In reality, they weren't fit to lick the ground that contemporaneous Australian and Swedish bands like The Nomads, The Lime Spiders and The Leather Nun strutted on. The sleeve notes underline the ludicrous chutzpah under which The Jasmine Minks laboured. According to them, they "took…on board in our own way…The Standells, 13th Floor Elevators…The Seeds, The Sonics…borrowed …from…The Byrds, Gil Scott-Heron, Funkadelic, Captain Beefheart". Claiming this lacklustre and puny twaddle has any connection to such musical genius is just preposterous. There was true greatness present in the independent scene of the time - The Smiths and The Jesus and Mary Chain, for example, were in their prime. But The Jasmine Minks were without doubt the dog ends. Their early songs are thinly whining and their later songs are blandly mediocre (if the production was better, they'd almost be AOR) and from the evidence contained here, their rhythm section never seemed to master the ability to play in time. They claim that they've been "given the 'Trotsky' treatment: airbrushed from history", clearly oblivious to the fact that this only happened to people who actually had quality ideas and represented a genuine threat to the establishment. If you want to talk about what it's like to really be unjustly ignored, have a chinnywag with The Leather Nun's Jonas Almquist. But perhaps it's beneficial. Like Eoin McLove on 'Father Ted', this music is completely dickless, and the annals of rock lose nothing if The Jasmine Minks are excluded from even its footnotes.
www.revola.co.uk
Betty Chienne

KEITH
Ain't Gonna Lie (RPM; CD)
     As Peter Doggett notes in his liners for this disc: "In the fast-moving world of '60s pop, singers were literally only as important as their last record, and there was always someone else in line to steal the limelight." Thus was the case with Keith (AKA James Barry Keefer) who despite having issued two albums and a slew of 45s, is only remembered (if at all) for the hit singles '98.6' and 'Ain't Gonna Lie', neither of which are amongst his best material. He recorded for Columbia (with his early group The Admirations) and Mercury and was fortunate to come under the wing of producer Jerry Ross who had also discovered Kenny Gamble (later of Gamble & Huff fame who birthed the Philly soul sound of the '70s) 
     Both Keith's albums and non-album 45s are anthologised on this disc of 27 songs. There is good variety in the set variously ranging between just left of MOR to full on tilting blue-eyed soul pop. As a generalization for comparison, Keith's sound can best be described (here) as something akin to Lou Christie (without the falsetto), Gary Lewis or even the later Bobby Vee of the same period (1966-'69). It's pop throughout, some sub-bubblegum (seemingly self-acknowledged in 'The Teenybopper Song'), others are of a much higher calibre such as 'White Lightnin', 'Mind if I Hang Around' or 'Making Every Minute Count'. In general if you like the light white pop soul sound of that epoch, this is a set for you. You may need the skip button in places, but there's certainly enough of merit here to justify purchase.
http://www.cherryred.co.uk/rpm/
Paul Martin

NEON PEARL
1967 Recordings (Acme; CD)
     If you're familiar with the Pete Dunton story, you will know he was a drummer with connections to Please, The Flies and T2. Neon Pearl is the beginning of that connection. Dunton (drums / vocals), Bernard Jinks (bass) and Rod Harrison (guitar) plied their trade as Neon Pearl in Germany in the summer of 1967. In the absence of enough original material they launched into (apparently) psychedelic jam sessions, supplementing this with a jazz set (they were offered a residency in a German jazz club as a result). After a few months playing to appreciative German audiences, they returned to Blighty where a music publisher financed them to lay as many tracks to tape as they could within the few hours booked. This is what we have here.
     Acme originally issued this material on vinyl a few years back after the success of their Please reissues (and with the recent Bulldog Breed LP reissue, a further connection to personnel here) they are still running with that particular ball. The only addition to the CD version of Neon Pearl's 1967 Recordings are two bonus tracks 'Dream' and 'Nothing To Say', the former a short acoustic number, the latter a faster full band number (@ 1.49 long!) neither of which add anything to the proceedings, so if you already own the vinyl edition, you really don't need to replace it with this.
     However, if you've not heard this yet it is certainly a worthwhile project to buy into. Essentially there are eight (plus the two short bonuses) longish tracks comprising of guitar, drums and bass. If you're familiar with Please already, it's like them but without keyboards. On a superficial level the whole lot might just come across as boring and linear, perhaps suffering from a lack of instrumentation to do anything substantial with the songs (they were demos you know!). However, give it another listen and relax some, and you'll enjoy a rather pleasing listen of gliding rhythms and softly pulsing melodies that genuinely "please", if you'll pardon the pun. 'Out Of Sight' and 'Going With The Flow' in particular are quite delicious. This is almost certainly the most spartan of Dunton's reissued material thus far, but it doesn't suffer because of it, rather it gives it a feel all of its own. Enjoy.
sales@acmerecords.co.uk
Paul Martin
SLAUGHTER JOE
Le Do Caixao (Rev-Ola; CD)
     Well, it sure is a big bang and it does come from the dawn of Creation (Records that is). This is none other than an alias of Rev-Ola label boss and T V Personality art-rock piss-take terrorist, Joe Foster!! First released in 1990, this is the aural equivalent of being slapped over the head with a thick slab of treacle toffee that's been in the fridge overnight! Foster must have listened to a lot of early Iggy records cos that's what this has the most in common with, circa 'Raw Power' Big, thick wedges of rock 'n' roll guitar played more than just loud! Not a Ramones like thrash, there are r'n'r guitar breaks and fills all over the place, never just power chords. However the VU's must have been plenty in the red when this stuff was recorded.      Opener 'Positively Something Wild' is almost pure Iggy cut with just a little of the '77-8 Pistols aesthetic. 'Fire Engine' (yes, the 13th Floor Elevators) is done in a way I'm sure Rocky would approve of if he'd thought of it in 1977 rather than 67 and that's probably the most visceral attack on 'Sally Go Round The Roses' you're ever likely to hear. Elsewhere there's a bizarre garage-rock overload take on northern soul in 'Tangerine' and some Lou Reedisms (circa 'Coney Island Baby') in 'Napalm Girl'. 'Wild Mountain Thyme' is the Byrds version but without the sublimity. The guitar is really nice though, its jingle-jangle even more refreshing, coming as it does in the midst of all this crypto Detroitism, White Stripes have you been to Slaughter Joe's??. The anti-art-attack is most apparent in the thrashing riff in 'The Lonesome Death Of Thurston Moore' whilst 'I'll Follow You Down' is perhaps the most seriously charged track on the disc. If this was touted as a long-lost Detroit r'n'r band that once supported the MC5 you wouldn't think to question it. Lyrically incomprehensible in much of its content, the voice just riding the adrenaline of the rhythm, this is must-have piece of aural mayhem for anyone who takes loud guitars seriously. www.revola.co.uk
Paul Martin

THE SONICS
Introducing (Sundazed; CD)
     The Sonics much (unfairly) maligned 3rd LP from '66 has been on vinyl reissue (courtesy of Norton) for a few years now. Now here it is on CD with four extra tracks ('Bama Lama Bama Loo', 'Leave My Kitten Alone', 'Dirty Old Man' and 'Diddy Wah Diddy'). Garage heads of old will always wax nostalgically about their first encounter with the Sonics extolling the virtues of their over-amped tub-thumping first two albums for The Wailers Etiquette label and the basis of their legendary status as garage kings. Once they left for the Jerden label however, the garage head's face usually wrinkles sniffily and dismisses the end product as not comparable. That has always been the problem for this album, suffering from iconic status comparison.
     Introducing… was recorded at Gold Star studios in Hollywood. That Gold Star was not Etiquette is like saying Lemons are not Apples; axiomatic and therefore the comparisons are invalid (but of course also inevitable). Listening to this album to quote a certain Mr Michael "without prejudice" is a treat. It stands on its own as a work of garage art. If the name "The Sonics" were replaced with any other, the prejudice would not blind the ears.
     This being said, both the versions of 'The Witch' and 'Psycho' that appear here are the originals not re-recordings suggesting that it was felt they couldn't be improved on and so sound markedly different in the context of the rest of the album as a result. If you are a new garage initiate, this is not probably the place to start on your Sonics quest. No, get either (fanatics have both) the Big Beat label CD anthologies which compile the bands first two albums in all their glory (the second is a two track raw mix of the finished masters that comprise the first CD issued a decade ago, either or both are essential). Introducing… is very much where you should end up rather than begin. Notable also is that a good number of these toons have found compilation status of late (not least across the four volumes of Big Beat's Northwest Battle Of The Bands series), but it is great to have them all in one place and as the original album. Sure, the tub-thumping drums don't sound as in your face here, but the sheer ferocity of some these numbers can't be contained; 'I'm A Man', 'You Got Your Head On Backwards', 'On The Road Again' (no, no that one), 'Like No Other Man' and 'High Time'. Of the bonus cuts (and even with four of them the CDs playing time is still on 35 minutes!) 'Dirty Old Man' is a must-have all sneer and leer. So, a much-maligned album worthy of a lot more credit than it has ever received. If you don't have a record player for Norton's vinyl version or just want the bonus tracks, or simply complete your Sonics collection, this is far from the letdown it has always been painted as.
www.sundazed.com
Paul Martin

THE SYMBOLS
The Best Part Of: The President Recordings (President; CD)
     More Brit harmony pop shenanigans, this time courtesy of the fully re-vamped, reborn President label. You can almost see that Equals back catalogue overhaul coming round the corner...
     The Symbols scored a clutch of UK hits with 'Bye Bye Baby' (later a smash for The Bay City Rollers in an identikit version) and '(The Best Part Of) Breaking Up' in the late 60's, as well as releasing half a dozen flop singles cut from the same Four Seasons/Beach Boys/Phil Spector-coloured cloth. The striking cover photo of the band in full body paint and Kensington Market threads is about as misleading as you can get. This stuff is soft and sugary all the way. While few of these sides are as satisfying as those of contemporary acts like The Montanas or The Ivy League, the Essex quartet were strong interpreters and injected just enough chutzpah into the conservative material to make you want to stick with it until the end of this 25-track anthology.
     Original compositions 'Again' and 'Pretty City' and the unreleased versions of Marmalade's 'Rainbow' and The Four Seasons' 'Silence Is Golden' (cruelly appropriated by fellow Dagenham boys The Tremeloes for their 1967 chart-topper) are among the strongest cuts on offer.
     Paul Bevoir's flowery artwork and the ubiquitous David Wells' liners suggest that Sanctuary would have put this collection out if President had not become a functioning unit again. Either way, file next to your Ripples and West Coast Consortium comps while you wait for the forthcoming President pop-psych collection.
www.president-records.co.uk
Andy Morten

THE UGLYS
The Quiet Explosion: Complete Recordings (Sanctuary; CD)
     To paraphrase the old soccer adage, this is a "disc of two halves". The Uglys are a part of Brum-Beat history, with their Move connections and all. The sometime labyrinthine tale is told in good detail by David Wells in the liners, but what's it sound like? Well it's a long-awaited collection by Uglys watchers as they have only sparingly appeared on comps over the years (e.g. Brum Beat and Perfumed Garden). The 24 tracks (#24 is hidden) cut up like this. Tracks 1-12 comprise the A & B sides of The Uglys six released singles for Pye, MGM and CBS (the MGM single, 'I've Seen The Light' / 'Mary Colinto', perhaps their two best efforts and those for which they are best known, along with 'Quiet Explosion' only existed in a handful of acetate copies). I would suggest that you'll need to make judicious use of your skip button on your CD player in this half. As good as the majority are ('Wake Up My Mind', 'It's Alright', 'A Friend', 'The 'Quiet Explosion', 'Real Good Girl' and the aforementioned MGM single), there are a number of dire novelty numbers, namely 'Ugly Blues', 'A Good Idea', 'End of The Season', 'Can't Recall Her Name', and 'And The Squire Blew His Horn'. Try programming the first 12 minus these five and you'll see how the sequencing improves.
     The second 12 numbers are all either unreleased demos or BBC sessions. These are in immaculate sound quality and there's not a duffer amongst them. Beautifully sketched numbers such as 'Roses In The Rain' leave you aching for a finished version, but eternally grateful that this even exists. Elsewhere 'This Is Your Mind Speaking' (as good as you'd hope with a title like that) 'Speakly Weekly' and 'Mr D J Man' (the hidden track) are sublime and even the cover versions are cool ('Summertime Blues', 'She Comes In Colours' for instance) and there's an alt take of 'Mary Colinto. There's pics and label shots in the liners, but I wish the great b/w shot of the group on the back sleeve had been on the front with the rather naff cartoon on the front put on the back, just a personal preference. Overall this is a great pop comp, with 19 of it's 24 numbers all winners in my book. Well worth the wait.
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.co.uk
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Beach Party: Garpax Surf 'N' Drag (Ace; CD)
     Gary S Paxton was a '50s rock 'n' roller turned entrepreneur. He was hip enough to get in on the surf music scene at the ground floor and as a result produce some of the earliest 45s of the genre. Earlier, Paxton had made hits with The Argyles 'Alley-Oop' and Bobby 'Boris' Picket's 'Monster Mash'. These influences are reflected in tracks here like Lord Douglas Byron's 'Big Bad Ho Dad' and Bucky & The Dales 'Fire Water' (with mock red Indian chanting). As an entrepreneur, Paxton clearly recognised he was in on a new market and exploited it to the max. Hence many of the tracks on this collection have a contrived or at least less than sincere feel to them. Many, like Sanford & The Sandies were purely studio aggregations for his Garpax label.
     Personally, I've yet to hear a better collection than the now deleted Ace comp Big Surf within this genre, though the Australian Board Boogie collection on Big Beat is also right up there. Here however we have a mix of largely mediocre sounding surf instrumentals and novelty drag songs (though that genre is arguably little more than a surf sideline novelty anyway). If you're into this stuff more than superficially, you will probably find a good deal more worthiness within it. There's Jan & Dean copyists a plenty, not least The Captivations' 'Speed Shift' (co-written by Paxton) and teen ballads such as The Fashions' 'Surfers Memories'. The packaging as always with Ace is excellent sporting pics and the whole history of the label and the scene by Alec Palao. However, if you're just looking for an entry point for the surf instro sound, don't begin here. There's nothing inherently wrong with the collection, it's just not anything special.
www.acerecords.co.uk
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Footprints In The Snow: An Anthology Of The British Singer-Songwriter Genre 1965-74 (Sanctuary; 2-CD)
     After listening to this CD and sitting down to type, I was forced to laugh out loud at a TV advert for one of those Starbucks-approved 'Nu Acoustic' CDs featuring Dildo, Travers, that 'Closest Thing To Crazy' girl and a bunch of other stiffs who'd struggle to get to the bridge of even the simplest track included here.
     Sanctuary have been quite brave with their tribute to the golden years of the songwriter. In taking such a broad sweep through a decade's worth of music that loosely sits under an incredibly wide stylistic umbrella, they could have easily ended up with a sow's ear rather than the silk purse that is Footprints In The Snow.
     The music's arranged chronologically so disc one leans towards the much-loved folk troubadour stylings of Donovan ('Catch The Wind'), Bert Jansch ('Needle Of Death'), Ralph McTell ('Streets Of London') and Jackson C Frank ('Blues Run The Game') but adds regular refreshers in the form of Mick Softley's 1965 anti-war rant 'I'm So Confused', Marc Bolan's 1966 demo of 'The Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith' and Dyon Parker's fragile 1968 baroque-folk outing 'Footprints In The Snow'.
     By the time that most of disc two was recorded (1969-1974), the 'one man and his guitar' formula had been largely eschewed in favour of (gasp!) electric instruments and even (surely not!!) orchestration. Indeed, cuts like John Kongos' bouncy 'Desert Of Mountains And Men', Jackie McAuley's jazzy 'Cameramen Wilson And Holmes' and Paul Brett's Sage's sun-kissed 'Tuesday Evening' betray few or no folk roots at all, preferring instead to reflect the velvet tonsils of Crosby, Stills & Nash and the confessional songwriting of James Taylor and Carole King. Exceptions are Shelagh McDonald's exquisite 'Stargazer' and Steve Tilston's breathtaking 'Reaching Out', starker solo pieces and both highlights here.
     A well-compiled and hugely enjoyable set, perfect for those encroaching balmy summer evenings. 
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.co.uk
Andy Morten

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Gather In The Mushrooms: The British Acid Folk Underground 1968-74 (Sanctuary; CD)
     Ggghde bdslluf pa… hang on, it's quite hard to see the keyboard with this wicker horse's head on. Ah, that's better.
     Acid folk? Whatever. Certainly, the combined aromas of patchouli oil and pot that seem to fill my chamber as Heron's 'Lord And Master' creeps from the speakers is palpable. And yes - I am reaching for my Wicker Man DVD as I type. Magnet's 'Corn Riggs' from that most iconic of folk-horror flicks opens this collection and remains the archetypal cut here. Most of the largely acoustic songs that follow it tread the same path of olde English folklore and begrudging acknowledgements to hippie pop culture, occasionally stopping to change the baby and have a quick puff on the way.
     It's difficult to maintain such a fine theme throughout 75 minutes of music and there are moments when urban prog dropouts Writing On The Wall and Fresh Maggots sound positively lumpen in the company of gossamer-light pieces like Trader Horne's 'Morning Way' and Sallyangie's 'Love In Ice Crystals'.
     Several of Footprints In The Snow's (see above review) protagonists (Bert Jansch, Shelagh MacDonald, Andy Roberts) re-appear here in their pastoral turn-of-the-70's guises alongside almost obligatory cuts by Sandy Denny and Vashti Bunyan. And while Comus' 12-minute weird-out 'The Herald' smacks of filler, it's still one of the most downright bizarre things you'll here this year.
     The artwork and packaging are superb, some of the best I've seen for a long time, and Bob Stanley's liner notes remain jocular and objective in the face of the serious purism of the music.
     Not one for the garage kids but a pleasant trip for us cake 'n' gardening types.
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.co.uk
Andy Morten

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Love, Peace & Poetry: Mexican Psychedelic Music (Shadocks Music/QDK Media; CD)
     It wasn't until the Avandaro Festival that music became "really bloody freaky" in Mexico. Sure, garage bands had played Brit Invasion covers and rip-offs throughout the mid-'60s, but by 1971 the oppressors were challenged and long-haired bands making a revolutionary stance were in abundance. Their music was viewed as dangerous and subversive, and the youth - and for that matter the labels -- loved them. (Many of the acts on this compilation were signed to majors).
     The Mexican freaks definitely had their own sound, even though the bands borrowed liberally from late '60s fuzzy American psychedelic garage (the Kaleidoscope's 'Hang Out' ['69]), hard British blues rock (Three Souls In My Mind's 'Lemon Blues' ['71]), Procol Harum's classical pop-psych (The Spiders' 'It's You' ['70]) and venomous proto-punk (Grupo Ciruelas's 'Nada Nos Detendra ['73]). El Tarro De Mostaza's fine mid-tempo garage-pop tune "El Ruido Del Silencio" even bears a strong similarity to Holland's The Outsiders' "Daddy Died On Saturday". Could there be a tenuous connection? Let me know…
     However, the compilation's finest track is by perhaps the greatest Mexican band of the era, La Revolución de Emiliano Zapata. "En Medio De La Lluvia" is the perfect example of the compilation's bright Latin passion. At eight minutes long the song nearly succumbs to delirium, but somehow manages to hold it together resulting in a fucked-up, acid-guitar fried, but calculated, wonder. This is like a chili cookout washed down with a bottle of tequila. Hot, spicy and a little bewildering. 
www.normal-records.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Piccadilly Sunshine: UK Pop-Sike And Other Flavours Part Three & Part 4 (Desiree; CD-R)
     Right off it has to be said that both #3 and #4 in this series are paisley pop magic. Far more consistent and less esoterically compiled than #1 and #2, these just bristle with pop unknowns and virtually everyone of 'em is a winner. Both volumes are far more akin to the Pop In and Colour Me Pop series that their predecessors, so you know what to expect if you already have any of those.
     #3 includes such delights as Sight & Sounds' 'Little Jackie Monday', a Sheridan & Price vehicle, post Nightriders, and is a great little mover and yet another later Dave Clark Five offering in the form of 'Man In A Pin-Stripped Suit' turns up, this time a whimsical piece rather than freakbeat, but symbolic of the DC5's still largely unexplored later direction. Two numbers from unknown Keith Field in 'Stop! Thief' and 'The Day That War Broke Out' are great tunes, the latter especially, has a really on the money lyric about how Keith arrived in the world as a result f his dad's imminent departure for army training! Peanuts' 'Emily' is the kind of dreamy beauty you'd expect to find on a later Syde Tryps volume perhaps. Tony Rivers & The Castaways' final 45 before re-emerging as Harmony Grass, 'Pantomime' is also a paisley winner. Although Dennis Couldry's often comped 'I Am Almost There' for some reason features here also, so does it's uncomped flip 'James In The Basement;' which is every bit as off-kilter as its glorious A side. Martha Velez's 'Swamp man' comes on like a Stars In Their Eyes contestant; "Tonight Matthew I'm going to be Sharon Tandy" and the band sound like Fleur De Lys as well!! The set ends with another good track by the enigmatic Hayden Wood in 'The Last One To Know', which makes a change from another appearance of 'House Beside The Mine'.
     As with the previous volume #4 has a consistent paisley pop feel throughout; brimming with uncomped Brit pop such as Izzy Pound's 'Pumpkin Mini' (the flip to 'Na Na Na Na' that was comped all those years ago on Incredible Soundshow Stories Vol. 2 LP). This is a great mover that makes this 45 a double header. There's John Bryant with the interesting 'Columbine' who ever since the appearance of his mysterious 'Something's Going On Outside' 45 on a volume in the Oddities LP comp series has garnered great interest. This is a pop beauty, but his '70s self-titled LP, is just country stuff. The Merseys' version of 'The Cat' is probably as rocky as they got (apart from their alt. take of 'Sorrow' on the Unearthed Merseybeat comp from last year) whilst Claes, Dieden, Etctara from Sweden come over all Mike Flowers Pops with their 'In The Jungle'.
     A real belter of a pop record is Tim Andrews & Paul Korda's 'Waiter, Get Me A Drink' and Peter Fenton muses at length on the shortcomings of a 'Small Town' ("...what's the use of a small town anyway, it's all over by 9.0'clock..." he add libs across the fade). The Rokes version of 'The Works of Bartholemew' paired with their now legendary 'When The Wind Arises' 45 is a smiley paisley pop pleaser. The Scaffold's 'Goose' should dispel anyone's scowling recollections of 'Lilly The Pink' as this is a real cool period piece with a Mike McGear lead vocal. First Impression's 'Young Man Seeks Interesting Job' is a quirky morality tale of youth's potential for fecklessness and Steve Hammond's 'The World Is Wrapped Around My Neck' is a synthesis of this sort of approach and Peter Fenton's. 
     As with the first two volumes, there are only fifty copies of each volume and come with useful liner notes. My only criticism with these is that the printer used seems to have been running out of ink, as there are tops and bottoms of words clipped off all over the place, which make it hard to read. Nonetheless, a sterling collection and there's still a #5 to come and there's a space reserved in my collection for it already!
Nick@heyday-mo.com
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Super Breaks Presents: Stax Breaks (Stax/Ace; CD)
     The Super Breaks series turns toward the faultless Stax catalogue for a further installment of tracks that the later hip-hop generation pilfered. Includes Otis & Carla's fun take on Lowell Fulsom's 'Tramp'; a slew of gritty instrumentals: The Mar-Keys' 'Black', 'In The Hole' and 'Memphis Sunrise', Booker T & The MGs' tight-ass 'Sing A Simple Song', Steve Cropper's breezy 'Crop Dustin'' and the sharp '24-Carat Black (Theme)' by 24-Carat Black and the socio-political, James' Ingram's thought provoking 'Drumbeat' and The Dramatics' anti-drug rant 'The Devil Is Dope'. There're also a good variety of more straight-ahead Stax soul orientated tracks, and all are good. A drumbeat here and a riff there may be known to hip hop fans, but if not interested in the sampling culture this is just a solid comp of a diverse stew of quality Stax material that all soul fans will enjoy.
www.acerecords.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Under The Silent Tree: Psychedelic Pstones IV (Sanctuary; CD)
     While the first two collections in this pop/psych/prog series blew the doors wide open on the Pye Records back catalogue and volume three allowed us to peak a little further into the Morgan Blue Town stable, this fourth instalment feels like it's hanging around waiting to lock up and go home.
     Drawing material exclusively from the early 70's and from a limited selection of labels was never going to be an easy task and, to be fair, it's hardly the fault of the compilers that they've had to rely on well-tested, over-exposed cuts from The Kinks, Status Quo, The Tremeloes, Honeybus, Fat Mattress, The Smoke and Stray to pad things out. 
     Of the remainder, Tuesday's 'Sewing Machine' is sublime dream-pop which may be familiar to a lucky few by virtue of it's appearance on Fading Yellow Volume Four (which also used tracks from this period and perfectly illustrates the ongoing 'boots Vs official releases' debate by doing it so well), Wishful Thinking's '1984' sounds great after years of shoddy bootleg appearances, Earl Jordan's enormous kitchen sink romp through '10,000 Years Behind My Mind' is a welcome addition and Nimbo's 'Forget Her', while not in the same league as it's proto-powerpop topside 'Maisie Jones', is a pleasant enough ditty. Sadly, uninspired period pieces such as Paul St John's 'The Flying Saucers Have Landed' (great title, dull track), Quiet World's 'The Visitor' and The Laurels' 'The Devil's Well' add no gravitas to this decidedly unstable compilation.
     It will be interesting to see whether Sanctuary can pull any further volumes out of the hat. On the strength of most of Under the Silent Tree, they'll be struggling.
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.co.uk
Andy Morten

VARIOUS ARTISTS
We All Live On Candy Green: Electric Sound Show Volume One (Sound Show; CD)
     The (near?) legendary Dig The Fuzz label is back, but now in CD only. Candy Green is Volume 1 in a projected series of five CDs which will rework the old Incredible Sound Show Stories catalogue whilst adding some newly discovered gems into the brew. Thus Volume 1 has tracks first airedon Vols. 10, 2 and 16 of the ISSS series plus a platter of new entrants. For any new adherents who have yet to discover the delights of the ISSS series, this is a useful way to sample it. For old-timers, the new stuff is as excellent as the rest and it is indeed good to hear some of these tracks on CD. For instance pulled from the (now very distant) Volume 2 of ISSS comes The Silence's 'To Sarah B', perhaps their best of the group of tracks by them featured on that volume (Sarah B being Sarah Bernhardt, the turn-of-the century French actress) and two tracks by Elli 'Mister Man' and even better 'Never Mind'.
     Of the newcomers, perhaps Rodney Bewes's (yes him out of The Likely Lads) 'Meter Maid' is the most eagerly anticipated gem. Released in 1970 as an alternate B side to the title theme of Bewes's vehicle of choice at that time, a 29 episode sitcom called Dear Mother, Love Albert, it is all toytown whimsy c.'67 and must have been recorded earlier than its release date. Equally interesting is Ken Saul's 'Pictures Framed In My Mind', a modernist folk number with everything drenched in phasing. Elsewhere Sons & Lovers 'From Now The Sun Shines', Gaslight's 'Move' and The Clevedonaires take on The Small Faces' 'Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire (which is blissful here) are all quality tunes and fit right in with the rest. The fold-out liners are very well detailed and there's some cool label shots. A very nice package indeed.
Nick@heyday-mo.com
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Who Will Buy These Wonderful Evils Volume II (Dolores; CD)
     Slimming down to a single CD, and ditching the new acts (that were hoping for a piece of the Hives' action) that made up the first, Who Will Buy This Wonderful Evils Vol II (or perhaps TOO? would have been more apt?) focuses solely on '60s Swedish beat and psychedelia, with a more pronounced move towards the lesser known. The '60s CD of the first volume was faultless, and a wonderful encapsulation of Swedish beat/garage/psych. Unfortunately this latest installment suffers a significant drop in quality: Kings' version of Fire's majestic 'Fathers Name Is Dad' is nothing more than mildly interesting, Les Fleurs' over zestful singing annoying, The Mixers' take on 'Keep Looking' not a patch on the Artwoods' and The Attractions' jazz instrumental, just that and nothing more. However, with a skip and jog here and there, nirvana can still be achieved. So, all is not lost. The two British ex-patriot bands the Evil Eyes (both sides of their almighty 45 are included) and The Iveys (no, not them!) are staggeringly good; Cheers' very Scandinavian approach to 'Somebody To Love', quite unique; The Mascots' frantic Yardbirds psych rave-up, unhinged; The Best's 'Back Door Man', definitely one of the best beat-punk versions and Darling come close to sounding British on their delightful psych popper, 'No One Besides Me'. 
     I can't possibly see any reason why any Shindigger should pass this over. Rarities, goodies, fine detailed liners from Stefan 'Stomachmouth' Kery and some fine pics make this a worthy addition to the collection. If not faultless, and indeed lacking in places, it's still cool with me.
www.doloresrecordings.com 
Jon 'Mojo' Mills