MADELINE BELL
Bell’s A Poppin’ (RPM; CD)
     Madeline Bell’s solo debut from ’67 is something of an undiscovered classic as this overdue re-issue from RPM proves in aces. Cut between her tenure as one of the most in-demand session vocalists in Britain (most notably on Dusty Springfield’s classic mid-late 60s recordings) and her subsequent rebirth as the female figurehead of Blue Mink, Bell’s A Poppin’ is full of the kind of brassy soul-pop that has come to ensure RPM’s Dream Babes volumes are always such a delight.
     ‘I’m Gonna Make You Love Me’ is the biggie here, albeit one which scored in Maddy’s native USA and across Europe but inexplicably not in the UK. Opener ‘Picture Me Gone’ transcends its status as a northern soul classic – to these ears it’s purely a near-perfect pop record. ‘Beat The Clock’ is another superb performance and an excellent song in the ‘Shadows And Reflections’ vein, which again should have been a huge, hit. Maddy’s soul credentials are exemplified by strong readings of ‘Soul Time’ and ‘Mercy Mercy Mercy’. Only a slightly ill judged ‘Can’t Get Used To Losing You’ sounds out of place.
     Eight pre-album single sides including the sublime ‘Don’t Come Running To Me’, an impassioned ‘What The World Needs Now Is Love’ and an epic ‘Climb Every Mountain’ (yes, The Sound Of Music one) are worthy additions but the real meat is contained within the twelve grooves of the album itself.
www.rpmrecords.co.uk
Andy Morten

THE CARNIVAL
The Carnival (Rev-Ola; CD)
     Produced by Bones Howe (The Association, The Fifth Dimension), sung by three former members of Brasil ’66 (including Janis Hansen, later Felix’s stupendously cute wife in The Odd Couple) and played by the LA wrecking crew, The Carnival’s lone 1969 long-player has all the credentials of a lost soft-pop classic. And it is!
     The opening salvo of ‘Canto De Carnival’ and ‘Laia Ladaia’ is surprisingly punchy; the former’s onslaught of percussive breaks having attracted the attention of sample freaks over the years. Elsewhere, period standards ‘Walk On By’ and ‘Son Of A Preacher Man’ are given fresh twists and even ‘Turn Turn Turn’, ‘Take Me For A Little While’ and ‘The Word’ receive a healthy dollop of big band chutzpah and South American joie de vivre without straying into cabaret cheese territory.
     Exclusive bonus tracks, rare photos and new interview material round off this excellent package from Rev-Ola.
www.revola.co.uk
Andy Morten

THE CREATION
Psychedelic Rose (Cherry Red; CD)
     Essentially, a long-lost album recorded in the mid-1980s for Polydor who axed it shortly after completion in a roster cull. The Creation proper on this platter are Eddie Phillips and Kenny Pickett, Polydor would not cough up to re-import other members from other parts of the world. A nine track album, it sports a bonus In the form of a reading by Joe Foster from Sean Egan’s book Our Music Is Red With Purple Flashes in which the whole context and background of the album is given.
     On the whole, openers ‘Lay The Ghost’ (slated originally as a single) and ‘Psychedelic Rose’ are the real winners here. Great modernistic art rock biff-bang and righteously so. The album overall has a definite 80s feel in the bigness of sound (verging on glam metal in places). Pickett and Phillips did set out to deliberately write a retrospective album. It sounds eighties because that is when it was recorded says Phillips. It didn’t need to of course a whole subculture of 60s regressives spent the eighties escaping from that decades production values after all, unless that is what Polydor were demanding. However, it is really only the drums which impose an unavoidable eighties-ness on the proceedings, double tracked and echoed, not what you’d like perhaps, but the sound in general is big. There are synths but more for colour than as a lead instrument. Only on ‘Far From Paradise’ does it make itself unwelcomely over present.
     In general, eighties-ness aside, this is a powerful and well delivered set. If you’re a purist stay away from it, but if you’re broader churched you will enjoy it. Additionally, there’s a five-minute video bonus track of the group performing an extemporised version of ‘Painter Man’ at the Mean Fiddler, and is a real delight. See Eddie Phillips bow that guitar to oblivion! An excellent version indeed.
www.cherryred.co.uk
Paul Martin

DRAGONFLY
Dragonfly (Gear Fab; CD)
A most beautiful mess: somewhat like Kak and early Blue Cheer with a nod to The Who ’67 and the same edge as The Electric Prunes In Stockholm. Not bad, eh?     Dragonfly (nee The Legend) gave it their all with a plenitude of caustic soda drenched fuzz guitar that obliterated everything in it’s wake including the oh-so cool heavy far-out dude vocalising. In a few words: this is the biz! There’s no polish on these quick fire recordings, but plenty of spit and elbow grease. From the heavy doom garage of ‘Blue Monday’ and the deconstructed-but-somehow-utterly-Yarbirdsesque take on ‘Hootchie Kootchie Man’ to the mod-pop sounds of ‘Enjoy Yourself’, ‘Portrait Of Youth’ and closer ‘Miles Away’, it’s splendid ‘til the end. One of 1970’s most truly exciting (and forgotten) releases, that’s for sure. Whoever needed studio time to make a perfect R&R record?
www.swiftsite.com/gearfab
Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills

GANDALF THE GREY
The Grey Wizard Am I (Gear Fab; CD)
     If lo-fi recording has been viewed as valid and hip since the silly ‘80s, it was something that young musicians low on funds – and without digital 16 track recording facilities on their Dad’s PC – had to rely on in the ‘60s and ‘70s if they wanted their music to resemble anything close to the output of a professional band. And you can bet your bottom dollar that if they had the tech they’d have used it. For his self-pressed albumThe Grey Wizard Am I Chris Wilson (AKA Gandalf) bounced down all of the instruments onto a ’72 Sony tape recorder. 1000 copies were made and given to friends and family, with a few being sold; and Chris never guessed his gentle/primitive folk-rock album would become a cult collectors item 30+ years on. Although the pointed hat and staff image post-Peter Jackson has taken on a different meaning, in ’72 Lord Of The Rings was a slightly obscure piece of literature that the counter-culture held close to their hearts; not something of a franchise for fantasy based toys, sticker albums, games, pyjamas and y-fronts! Much of Wilson’s album, most obviously, focuses on the book. If you will, imagine Donovan on vocals with a wee bit of Arthur Lee circa Forever Changes stirred into your average Greenwich Village folkies’ repertoire and you’re over half way there in understanding this slightly invigorating album. Once you get past the – unintentionally – primitive recording values, you’ll find a most pleasant folk-rock/psych album.
www.swiftsite.com/gearfab
Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills

LAURIE JOHNSON
Cult TV Themes By Laurie Johnson (Sanctuary; CD)
     There must be countless times you might have already found the themes to The Avengers or The Professionals on cheapo or give-away CDs. However, it’s not the same as having them in the collection of their composer. Here, Johnson’s TV themes run from 1960 (with opener the long forgotten ‘No Hiding Place’ which starred Raymond Francis as Chief Superintendent Lockhart and was popular enough at the time to warrant its own annual) through to the early and less interesting, soft focussed 1990s. It’s a real kaleidoscope this one. You get all the classics, ‘The Avengers’, ‘The New Avengers’, ‘The Professionals’, ‘Jason King’ et al. Alongside these though (which are the real winners of course), you get the themes to ‘Animal Magic’, ‘This Is Your Life’, and the awful ‘Mein Libling, Mein Rose’. In between you also get corkers like ‘Riviera Police (Latin Quarter)’ and a great outro in the form of ‘A Flavour Of The New Avengers’ which is dialogue from an episode with creepy dynamic music. This is all packed in a nice card slipcase and the fold out insert has plenty of period pics from the series featured in the music. Overall, not essential, but if you’re a cult TV or film / TV score fan then it has a definite appeal.
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.co.uk/
Paul Martin

THE KINKS
Are The Village Green Preservation Society (Sanctuary; 3-CD)
     Ah, the irony. That The Kinks’ largely ignored 1968 album (and their first not to dent the charts even slightly) has just picked up unanimous 5 star ‘re-issue of the month’ accolades and garnered unequivocal praise by every music mag and weekend pundit on the planet just about sums up the puzzling story of this great English group.
     Rather than attempting to contextualise and conceptualise TKATVGPS (you’re probably getting a little tired of reading that stuff – I certainly am), I’ll just say that it remains The Kinks’ best album and the absolute zenith of everything Ray Davies set out to achieve with them in the 60’s. Bassist Peter Quaife left the band shortly after it’s release, a moment which even the notoriously ambiguous Davies clearly cites as being "the end of the band". Those opinion-baiting naysayers who proclaim Arthur or even (God forbid) Muswell Hillbillies to be The Kinks’ greatest works are talking out of their arses. While subsequent albums/concepts were peppered with stunning songs and even hit singles (something that TKATVGPS has none of – the summer ’68 hit ‘Days’ was removed by Davies in one of his many volte faces prior to the album’s delayed release), Davies certainly never wrote so many timeless, touching and personal songs in one hit ever again. ‘Picture Book’, ‘Starstruck’, ‘Big Sky’, ‘Animal Farm’, the irresistible title track - any number of them should have been hits in an ideal world i.e. the world The Kinks had inhabited only a year earlier when a sprawling, symphonic curiosity like ‘Autumn Almanac’ could reach number three in the hit parade.
     The 1967/’68 recordings that made up the assorted scrapped variations of TKATVGPS, the US Four More Respected Gentlemen set and the subsequent 15-track album we all know and love are all here in mono and stereo versions, along with a third disc of out-takes and alternate versions, most of which only briefly leaked out on the Great Lost Kinks Album in the early 70’s. Of these, titles like ‘Lavender Hill’, ‘Misty Water’ and ‘Rosemary Rose’ will be familiar to many. They’re the equal of much of TKATVGPS and it’s pre-cursor, 1967’s Something Else By The Kinks and their appearance after years of Davies refusing to allow them out of the archive suggests both goodwill to the fans and possibly some new level of contentment in the old curmudgeon himself.
     Andy Miller’s liners are illuminating and the booklet is overflowing with previously unseen photos and track-by-track info. And while this may not be the absolute 100% definitive edition, it’s a superlative package, amazingly cheap and bigger and better than any of us could have conceived of even five years ago.
     This world is big and wild and half insane. What a great place to be.
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.co.uk/
Andy Morten

THE MICE
For Almost Ever Scooter (Scat Records; CD)
     We’ve all had the experience of hearing music by two distinct bands and marvelling at how much alike they sound, only to become even more astonished to learn that the two bands had never heard of each other!     The only conclusion we can reach is that each band, unbeknownst to each other, was greatly shaped by the same influences.     Such is likely the case with The Mice and Material Issue.     Both were three piece bands fronted by dynamic lead vocalists and armed with rapid-fire drummers, and both were clearly influenced by The Who and The Jam, among others.     The Mice called Cleveland their home in the mid ‘80s, and released an EP and LP of high-octane, spirited power pop.     For Almost Ever Scooter combines the two discs (in fact, its name is a combination of the names of the two original discs), and Material Issue fans will gobble it up like a vulture attacking a dead rabbit.     The songs from the For Almost Ever EP sound the most like MI; lead singer Bill Fox (yeah, the same Bill Fox who would release two folk-inflected CDs on SpinArt 10 years later) is almost a dead ringer for MI’s Jim Ellison, and songs like “Downtown,” “Not Proud Of The USA,” and “Felicia” (like MI, there had to be at least one song with a girl’s name as the title) could have been placed on Material Issue’s debut, International Pop Overthrow, without anyone knowing it wasn’t them!     The 10 songs from the Scooter LP show more complex arrangements, but “Ancient Mystery,” “More Than I Can Talk About,” and “Second Best” could have worked on For Almost Ever, “Bye Bye Kitty Kat” recalls early Who, and fans of the pre-Raspberries band The Choir will love the melodies of “Guarding You” and “Crystal Science”.     The final cut, “Caroline,” with its rudimentary charm, could have theoretically paved the way for minimalist bands like Sebadoh or Guided By Voices.     For Almost Ever Scooter is an essential purchase for fans of classic power pop, and will be a blessing to those of you who had heard of The Mice but couldn’t find it within your hearts or wallets to shell out the $50 the original discs would regularly fetch on eBay.     Note: It seems a bit strange to talk about The Mice as sounding like Material Issue, since the latter came after the former, but since most of us won’t have gotten to hear The Mice until now, it seems appropriate.
www.scatrecords.com
David Bash

THE PRISONERS
Hurricane: The Best Of (Big Beat; CD)
     The Best Of The Prisoners. Not going to be an easy one is it? I still have vivid memories of making C90 tapes bearing that very title in 1986 with all my Prisoners vinyl strewn across the floor of my bedroom, wondering whether to include ‘Who’s Sorry Now’ at the expense of ‘Threw My Heart Away’ before jumping on the train and going to see them play again. Yeah, I know – it’s a High Fidelity thing. But fuck it, it’s important! There is an art to making a good compilation and all those stupid rules and regulations really do apply.
     This isn’t to say that Big Beat’s first ever round-up of The Prisoners’ recording career doesn’t work – it does – it’s just that a compilation of this kind, particularly when it’s a band you spent your teenage years and beyond doting on and obsessing over, is ultimately only as successful as how many of your favourite songs they’ve included and how similar it is to projects of your own creation. Dean Rudland (who probably sat there thinking over exactly the same shit as me) has assembled an interesting collection. It’s non-chronological (a good thing), well-sequenced (lovely), it includes a couple of rarities alongside the obvious stuff (great) and it plainly reflects his own choices more than representing a fair slice through their four albums and sundry singles and EPs. This, for me, is where it falls down.
     Not surprisingly, the set leans heavily (over half the selections) on A Taste Of Pink and The Last Fourfathers and while The Wisermiserdemelza probably doesn’t rank as too many people’s top Prisoners album, it certainly deserves better than being represented by one track, ‘Hurricane’. Surely ‘Love Me Lies’ or maybe ‘Somewhere’ deserve a look-in? Likewise, only three cuts managed to escape from In From The Cold, leaving latter day gems like ‘The More That I Teach You’ and ‘Find And Seek’ nowhere to be seen. The CD only runs to 66 minutes so the inclusion of a few more tracks wouldn’t have been at the expense of others. There’s also a distinct emphasis on the heavier, dance floor material over the lighter, more melodic stuff; hence we get the comparatively unremarkable ‘Til The Morning Light’ while ‘There Can’t Be A Place’, one of their early classics for sure, is notable by it’s absence.
     On the plus side, it’s good to see ‘Mourn My Health’, ‘The Last Thing On Your Mind’, ‘I Drink The Ocean’ and ‘Reaching My Head’ making an appearance alongside confirmed classics ‘Melanie’, ‘Coming Home’, ‘Revenge Of The Cybermen’, ‘I Am The Fisherman’ and the rest. The sound quality is excellent throughout though there are a couple of moments when it sounds like they’ve clipped the beginning of the song a little too closely, for instance when removing the puking from the top of ‘Nobody Wants Your Love’.
     Rudland’s liner notes are workmanlike at best ("In my mind they are one of the great bands, the ones that people should wish that they saw, and most people I know who were there believe the same" reads the second line) and occasionally downright inaccurate ("One track ‘Happiness For Once’ was pure whimsical toy-town psychedelia" – Yeah? Not the version I’ve heard, mate!) which is a shame as he’s obviously a true fan of the band who followed and worshipped them during their original incarnation.
     If you’ve got the four album re-issues on Big Beat, make your own Best Of. If you’ve never heard of The Prisoners until now, buy this CD immediately.
www.acerecords.co.uk/
Andy Morten

THE PURPLE HEARTS
Beat That (Captain Mod; CD)
Smashing Time (Detour; CD)
     The ’80 mod revival album Beat That (which I bought from the HMV in Southampton in ’84, when I was 13) and Detour’s new collection of career spanning demos, odds and ends, come at a time when, once again, the influence of mod is most noticeable in British pop – notably The Libertines and The Ordinary Boys (whose ’79 punky stance and Fred Perry yob boy cool are pure Purple Hearts). Unfortunately the Hearts themselves didn’t ever trouble the charts. Their brand of pop art influenced tunes weren’t only decent, but also the closest the ’79 era got to sounding like a genuine 60’s mod band (The Game or Eyes). If for wont of some too-steady-heavy-handed drumming and the odd dodgy vocal the Hearts succeeded in their teenage aspirations. At the end of their career, Bob Manton’s reedy vocals in particular, they even anticipated the jangling psychedelic pop sound that The Stone Roses would later become legendary for.
www.captainoi.com/modska.html
www.detour-records.co.uk
Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills

THE ROBBS
The Robbs (Collector’s Choice Music; CD)
     Some have called this album folk-rock, others have dubbed it soft pop, but in whichever genre you choose to place it, one thing is certain: it is a damn fine slab of ‘60s pop music! The Robbs were an Los Angeles foursome centred around the three Robb (nee Donaldson) brothers, who were soon joined by drummer Craig Krampf (who became Craig Robb, of course), and released this gem in 1967. The Robbs is marked by the band’s exquisite harmonies, solid musicianship, and the deft songwriting abilities of Dee Robb.     The opening track, “Violets Of Dawn” is super sweet folk-rock of the first order, “Race With The Wind” will make fans of RCA-era Blue Things smile, the Buddy Holly-fuelled “Cynthia Loves Me” and “See Jane Run” could have been hits for Tommy Roe, and “Rapid Transit” could have been the same for The Grass Roots (as it was, “Rapid Transit” did bubble under The Billboard Top 100, but one wonders how well it would have done had The Grass Roots released it). The band shows some pretty cool moves once in awhile; check out the backwards guitar on “Next Time You See Me” and the fuzztone on “In A Funny Sort Of Way,” and the flower-power flecked “Bittersweet,” written by the prolific, legendary Sloan/Barri, is really hip, man! As with most Collectors’ Choice reissues there are no bonus tracks, but informative liners by Richie Unterberger are a plus. The Robbs are still active in the Los Angeles area, operating their Cherokee Recording Studio. Stop in and say hello sometime!
www.collectorschoicemusic.com
David Bash

SANDY SALISBURY Everything For You (Rev-Ola; CD)
     The last Salisbury collection, ‘Falling To Pieces’ was an absolute joy, full to bursting with sprightly young pop pearls. Everything For You offers a number of similar yummies; ‘Let It Rain, Let It Pour’, ’Love Came To Strawberry Lane’, ‘Navajo Girl’, ’Little Lost And Found’, Measure Of A Man’, ‘Tender Loving Care’, ‘Misty Eyes, Smokey Places’ are just as cool as anything to be found on Falling… but the rest of the disc is compiled from acoustic only home demos. On some of these demos you can just hear how good they would sound if they had been fully realised (‘Love Me, Love me Not’, ‘Do I Miss You’, and ‘Share With Me’ for instance), but there’s only a certain number of them really worth repeating.
     The liners are written by Mr S himself and the tracks are his personal picks, so you get some insight into the rationale of the inclusions which gives the disc a little more gravitas. Unlike Falling… though, you will find your finger poised over the skip button in places. A worthwhile disc to be sure for the tunes listed above and Salisbury’s insights if nothing else, but this is not really Falling To Pieces Vol.2 so much as it’s lesser half.
www.revola.co.uk
Paul Martin

GABOR SZABO
Bacchanal & 1969 (el; CD)
     Gabor Szabo fled his native Hungary in 1956 and ended up in Los Angeles where he soon fell in with the jazz crowd and began honing a unique guitar playing style that would reach something of a pinnacle with these two albums in the late 60’s.
     Bacchanal features lighter-than-air renditions of Donovan’s ‘Three Kingfishers’, Lee ‘n’ Nancy’s ‘Some Velvet Morning’ and ‘The Theme From Valley Of The Dolls’, all showcasing Szabo’s trademark eastern-tinged motifs and subtle use of feedback and featuring tasteful accompaniment from the likes of percussionists Hal Gordon and Jim Keltner. 1969 benefits from fuller instrumentation and sees Szabo and crew tackling ‘Dear Prudence’, ‘Both Sides Now’ and ‘Walk Away Renee’ with surprisingly tantalising results.
     This twofer should not be confused with the glut of generic kitsch covers albums that regularly flood the market – it’s the work of a master musician ("the Nureyev of the guitar") letting his hair down to the sounds of the age of Aquarius.
www.elrecords.co.uk
Andy Morten

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The United States Of America (Sundazed; CD)
     For an album that sold squat and a band that broke up as incongruously as it formed, The United States Of America left an undeniable stamp on contemporary music. Traces of their sinister electronic psychedelia can be found in the work of The High Llamas, Stereolab and Broadcast to this day.
     Blending ‘electrified’ drums, violins and harpsichords with disarming flashes of electronic sound and the ethereal vocals of Dorothy Moskowitz, The USA ultimately lived up to band leader Joseph Byrd’s claim that they were "unlike anything". They also wrote pretty good rock and pop songs for a bunch of avante garde UCLA students and ethnic jazz musicians. ‘I Won’t Leave My Wooden Wife For You, Sugar’ is probably the best known track here due to its inclusion on CBS’s The Rock Machine Turns You On sampler but it’s plodding tempo and finger pointing lyrics are also the least typical of the album. There are three strands running through the album – one is the trio of frantic, urgent rockers ‘Hard Coming Love’, ‘Garden Of Earthly Delights’ and ‘Coming Down’; the second Moskowitz’s stark, transparent solo pieces ‘Cloud Song’ and ‘Love Song For The Dead Che’; the third the spectral, strung-out opener ‘The American Metaphysical Circus’ (which features Moskowitz’s voice fed through a ring modulator to sublime sonic effect) and the closing ‘The American Way Of Love’, a cut ‘n’ paste "let’s do the whole album again in 7 minutes" experiment.
     After the original album, Sundazed offer us a further ten bonus tracks cut during various sessions before, during and after the album. Of these, ‘No Love To Give’ and ‘You Can Never Come Down’ are groovy acid-rockers, the latter finding it’s way in an alternate form onto Byrd’s next album, The American Metaphysical Circus and there are fascinating and radically different early attempts at three of The United States Of America’s key tracks.
     Overall, a superb release and a belated acknowledgement to a classic 60’s avante garde psych album.
www.sundazed.com
Andy Morten

CLIFFORD T WARD
No More Rock ‘n Roll (Cherry Red; CD)
     This is the sort of album that you would typically put on the stereo after you came back from the pub on a Friday night. It’s a great mid 70s chill out record, but more than that it is exquisitely well crafted. Ward gives the impression of effortless grace. In places countrified sounding not unlike a stripped down Eagles had they been middle-class Englishmen! Romantic and warm, just the thing to get cuddly with your partner over. The first three numbers set up the rest; ‘Gentle’, Secretary’ and ‘Birmingham’ (West Midlands that is not Alabama, as Ward is keen to stress) are all deliciously pointed songs. ‘No More Rock ‘n Roll’ and ‘For Emily’ are also choice cuts. The 12 track LP is supplemented by five bonus tracks of LP alternative versions. Easy on the ear, and soothing on the soul, a pretty album that deserves a wider hearing and hopefully via Cherry Red it will now get one.
www.cherryred.co.uk
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Boy Trouble: Garpax Girls (Ace; CD)
     As with the Garpax surf and drag set, this is a collection of undistinguished singles and it’s not surprising that none of them really made any chart impact at the time. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the artists or the songs, in fact it’s a real mixed bag of raw unproduced voices and classier acts. It’s just that nothing in particular stands out and that seems to have often been Gary Paxton’s trouble, too much emphasis on quantity and not enough on quality. Nonetheless, the disc, due if nothing else, to the obscurity of its artists is an intriguing set. Girl pop fans will want it for that alone. The best tracks come from the likes of Mary Saenz, The Revlons and Beverley Williams all of whom have several contributions on the disc. Musically the songs date from between 1962 and 1966 and stylistically between teenybop tinsel to orchestrated uptown whitebread soul pop (think the Big city soul style of the early-mid 60s). Talking of orchestration, there is one track which a cash-strapped Paxton had to substitute a heavily echoed kazoo for a horn section! Anyway, if you’re a 60s girl pop fan, you will undoubtedly find something of merit on here. If you have only a casual curiosity about tit, look elsewhere.
www.acerecords.co.uk
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
The Goldwax Story Volume 2 (Kent; CD)
This second instalment of the Goldwax story is perhaps not quite as intense or essential as Vol.1, but nonetheless has a lot going for it. There are some sterling sides from Spencer Wiggins in ‘I Never Loved A Woman (The Way I Love You), Percy Milem ‘Crying Baby, Baby, Baby’, I Don’t Know What You’ve Got (But It’s Got Me) and ‘I’m Crying Over You’. O.V Wright with The Keys ‘There Goes My Used To Be’, The Ovations ‘Happiness’ and James Carr’s ‘A Woman Is A Man’s Best Friend’. Raw stuff from Phillip & The Faithfull’s ‘Love Me’ and Barbara Perry’s ‘Say You Need It’ all confirm the southern sound that Goldwax is so revered for. Things get a little hokey in places with O B McClinton’s ‘A Man Needs A Woman’ The Vel Tones ‘Darling’ and Dorothy Williams’s ‘Country Style’, but it’s all part of the same brew. I didn’t need the skip button on Vol.1 here I found I did in places, but all said and done there’s a good quotient of southern soul on here that’s well worth acquiring the disc for. I just hope that Alex Palao will take advantage of the access to the Goldwax vaults and fix up a Goldwax garage compilation, unless they didn’t record enough garage sides to merit one.
www.acerecords.co.uk
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Ian Levine Presents Reaching For The Best: The Northern Soul Of Blackpool Mecca (Sanctuary; 2-CD)
     As in any subcultural and / or music scene that lasts more than five minutes, there are no end of empire building petty jealousies and rivalries. Inevitably this generates differences of approach or complete breaks with ‘tradition’. In general this is a healthy thing, it aids evolution in the listening and thinking experience. As in paisley pop or psychedelia, the genre did not suddenly stop on December 31^st 1969. No, classic recordings of a sixties style went on into the early 70s (Espirit De Corp’s ‘If’ from 1972, complete with phasing for instance). So it was with the ‘strange world of northern soul’ if I may use the title to the DVD set of that name.
     The Wigan Casino (see review elsewhere) was probably the most famous and first (?) all-night venue for northern soul fans. It developed its own house preferences which when you come down to it amounted to a strict adherence to 60s only and with a definite strident beat. What Ian Levine did with the Highland Room at the Blackpool Mecca was to take that forward by breaking cool sounds from the 1970s which would have been taboo at the Casino. This is his document of those songs that he feels the most important to this development. Disc 1 is in fact in many places not dissimilar to the Wigan preferred 60s sounds; Tony Clark’s ‘Landslide’ and Robby Lawson’s ‘Burning Sensation’ for instance are in fact classic ‘66-7 sides. The majority however date from 1972-5. True, the guitars got funkier and the rhythms slowed from frenetic to mid paced on many numbers, but the ‘feel’ was classy. There are some moments where proto-disco is touched upon, but thankfully not to any great extent. You can’t reject a disc that carries Gill Scott-Heron’s ’The Bottle’ can you? Eloise Laws ’Love Factory’ is from ’73 but you’d never guess it, a great number. The Carstairs ’It Really Hurts Me Girl’ from 73 and The Exciters ’Reaching For The Best’ are aural delights you cannot afford to miss.
     On disc 2, the quality slips a little in my opinion. There’s still some great sides like Frankie ’Loveman’ Crocker’s ’Ton of Dynamite’ and Carrie Lucas’s ’I Gotta Keep Dancing’ for instance, but further on there is a tendency to slip into a rather sluggish almost MOR by soul standards, mode. A question of personal taste perhaps, but worth noting. Overall, if you’ve ever been curious about the differences and schisms in the northern scene (and Levine is a prime mover in that), you’d be well rewarded with this set which has a lot to offer musically and in Levine’s own song by song notation on why each song was important. Good on the ear for the most part and a piece of history to boot.
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.co.uk/
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Maybe Someone Is Digging Underground: Songs Of The Bee Gees (Sanctuary; CD)
     Continuing Sanctuary’s occasional Songs Of series (whatever happened to the Ray Davies one anyway?) we have this entertaining romp through Barry, Robin and Maurice’s not inconsiderable songbook as interpreted by UK artists during the late 60’s and early 70’s.
     As well as the obligatory licensing restrictions, compiler David Wells has tended towards the pop-sike side of the tracks so there’s no Elvis, Tom Jones, Lulu, Jose Feliciano, Nina Simone or any of the countless other huge stars who are indebted to the talents of the Gibbs. Shame. What we do get though are faithful readings of Bee Gees hits (P P Arnold’s smouldering ‘To Love Somebody’, Cliff Aungier’s string-driven ‘Words’), deliberate re-workings (Velvett Fogg’s overblown ‘New York Mining Disaster 1941’), re-invented Australian tracks (Marmalade’s sumptuous ‘Butterfly’, The Montanas’ strident ‘Top Hat’) and tracks the prolific trio simply gave away without bothering to record themselves (Gerry Marsden’s ‘Gilbert Green’, Adam Faith’s ‘Cowman Milk Your Cow’, Billy J Kramer’s ‘Town Of Tuxley Toymaker’).
     Most of these versions are guaranteed winners for fans of The Bee Gees’ 60’s work (including this reviewer) with only a handful of below average pieces letting the standard slip a little here and there. David Garrick’s dreadful live rendering of ‘World’ feels like it’s never going to end – shame they couldn’t license Sharon Tandy’s majestic take of the song, a highlight of her recent Big Beat anthology.
     Possibly the most intriguing and essential cut here is The Fut’s legendary ‘Have You Heard The Word?’ on which Maurice, aided and abetted by Steve Groves and Steve Kipner of Aussi duo Tin Tin, turn in a spot-on drunken parody of Magical Mystery Tour-era psychedelic Beatles. Eventually released as a single in 1971, the track went on to build up a reputation which led to it’s inclusion on several Beatles bootlegs before it was registered as a John Lennon composition by Yoko Ono in 1985!
     You may have to laugh your way through the last two tracks though – don’t say I didn’t warn you.
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.co.uk/
Andy Morten

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Once Upon A Time In Wigan (Kent; CD)
     This is a set of songs that feature in the documentary of the Paul Sador directed film of the same name. To old baggy wearers I doubt there’s any surprises here, but as an exemplar of the scene it’s a good set (with perhaps the exception of Fats Domino’s ’It Keeps Rainin’, which has no northern affectations at all as far as I can hear). Kick off track is The Steve Karmen Big Band featuring Jimmy Radcliffe with ’Breakaway Part 1’, a mighty big sound and one of those Cliff Noble type tunes that elevates itself above the norm with a great arrangement. Elsewhere Casino staples are ubiquitously present in the form of Dean Parrish’s ‘I’m On My Way’, Timi Yuro’s ‘It’ll Never Be Over For Me’, Richard Temple’s ‘That Beatin’ Rhythm’ and Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons‘ ‘The Night’. Southern soulsters Otis Redding and Carla Thomas make honorary northern appearances here with ‘Loving By the Pound’ and ‘Ill Never Stop Loving You’ respectively. The real meat and veg however comes in the form of tracks like Sam Fletcher’s ‘I’d Think It Over Twice (If I Were You)’, Alice Clark’s ‘You Hit Me (Right Where It Hurt Me), Jackie Lee’s ‘Oh My Darlin’’ and The Incredibles ‘There’s Nothing Else To Say’. Maybe this is not as essential an introduction to northern soul as Kent’s two volume O-Keh label set from a few years back or indeed the revamped for CD ‘Kent’s Magic Touch’ set, but it is a pretty solid and dance based collection and as a souvenir of the film it’s well worth a punt if you’re curious about this music.
www.acerecords.co.uk
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Psychodelicias Volumes 9 & 10: Collectors Choices Volumes 2 & 3 (What’s That Sound; CDRs)
     Reportedly the last volumes in this colourful and vibrant series, these two collections are of collector’s favourites and recommendations. Volume 9 is a largely Spanish affair with excellent contributions from never-heard-of -‘ems such as Los Gritos, Los Espectros and Los Pepes. Venezuela’s Los 007, Mexico’s Los Temerarios, Chile’s Los Sicodelicos and even El Salvador’s Los Supersonicos put in some excellent paisley pop and beat. Elsewhere old chums like Spain’s Juan & Junior (‘A Dos Ninas‘), Los Cheynes (‘He Perdido Este Juengo’) and Los Brincos (‘Mejor’) intersperse the new with the familiar. In all an excellent collection which keeps the selections on these comps at a high.
     Volume 10 is an interesting departure from the popsike and pop beat norm of other volumes and plunges into the night club go-go world of fake-tanned crooners putting a bit of oomph into their ballads to get hip with the shake crowd (think Misty Lane’s recent ‘Stasara Shake’ comp or the Greek ’Operation Shake The Earth’ collection). Here you have the likes of Nino Bravo (‘Voy Buscando‘), Juan & Junior (‘En San Juan‘) Pic Nic (‘Oi Tu Voz‘), Jaimie Morey (‘Volveras‘) and Los Angeles (‘Monica’) all seeking to impress their impassioned feelings on your adoring ears. Bands vie with crooners for attention in a mixed soundscape oscillating between happy pop and plaintive ballads. All good stuff and an interesting way to finish the series (if it is indeed finished!).
psychodelicias@hotmail.com
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
RPM Promo Single THE AEROVONS ‘Stopped’ / SCOTT McCARL ‘Nobody Knows’ / THE FOCAL POINT ‘Never Never’ / HITS ’67 ‘Penny Lane’ (RPM; 45)
     I think this little gem is available from the RPM site. I suggest you check for details too, as this semi-Beatles themed 4-track EP will be worth owning, particularly if you’re a fan of Beatles’ clones The Aerovons as it includes a newly recorded version of an unreleased ‘60s track. Tom Hartman being quite the studio wiz, has managed to reciprocate the 60s edge completely. Raspberry Scott McCarl’s re-recording of his old band’s classic ‘Nobody Knows’ is a wonderful dose of Lennonised power pop that craps over every single latter day contemporary and side two features two RPM back cat classics: Scousers The Focal Point’s ‘Never Never’ (from 94 Baker St) and enjoyable oddity, Dame David Bowie’s rendition of ‘Penny Lane’, recorded when he was desperately seeking work (from Hot Hits On 45).
www.rprecords.co.uk
Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Winning Sides Vol.1: 16 Beat Punkers From All Over The World 1964-1968 (Hip Shake; LP)
     I simply can’t resist these Euro beat collections. This one has some very tasty sides indeed. Kick off track by West Germany’s the Rhythm Checkers may only be ‘Land of 1000 Dances’ but I bet you’ve never heard a version as wild as this. Second only perhaps to the Wicked Picket’s original. It’s a live recording from an EP put out by a Radio station but man does it pack a punch! You’ll think that you’ve never heard this before by the time it finishes! Strangely named Greek band ‘Blue Canabian Band’ offer a corking stomper in ‘Caroline’ whilst Paul Martin (yeah, right, like it was ever gonna be me and I‘m not the Prime Minister of Canada either!!) contributes an early 45 in ‘It Happened’ a really catchy little number. The Maze’s ‘I Got Love’ is the useful flip to the oft comped ‘Chained To Your Heart’. South Africa’s A-Cads turn in a more than acceptable ‘Down the Road’ replete with wailing guitar break whilst Belgium’s Devils Power supply ‘Le Monde Etrange’
     Which has a progressive turn of the 70s feel to it (rather like French band Choc’s ‘I Want You To Be My Girl’ if you know that one). Elsewhere somewhat more familiar fair is offered by Australia’s Masters Apprentices in ’Hot Gully Wind’, Sweden’s Name losers ’What’d I Say’ and Spain’s Los Broncos with ‘Baila la Pulga’. Overall a most worthwhile collection for any garage head. Someone needs to start a music library or depository for gathering all these kind of vinyl compilations together, they just keep coming!
Paul Martin