APPALOOSA
S/T  (Collector's Choice; CD)
     This Al Kooper produced undiscovered gem fom 1969 is a must for lovers of The Left Banke, Nick Drake and the genre referred to as "Baroque and Roll". All the songs were written by singer and accoustic guitarist John Parker Compton who with fellow group members Robin Batteau on violin, Eugene Rosov on cello and David Reese on electric bass eschewed the usual group configuration by having no drummer and a very mellow sound.
     Producer Al Kooper who also played keyboards including harpsichord brought in two ex Blood Sweat and Tears bandmates Bobby Columby and Fred Lipsius to flesh out the sound and the great Charlie Callelo fresh from producing Laura Nyro to do orchestral arrangements.
     The result is a joy to listen to. Each track contributes to provide a uniformed sound across the whole album. The amount of care which has gone into the writing, arrangements and production shines through to reveal a little gem of a record.
www.ccmusic.com
Pat Curran

LES BAXTER & HIS ORCHESTRA
Ritual Of The Savage (Rev-Ola; CD)
     You enter a Tiki Restaurant somewhere in the USA, c.1959, wearing your loudest Hawaiian shirt. You sit at a table next to the waterfall which is guarded by a splendid nine foot carved Tiki idol. You order several 'Don The Beachcomber' Zombie cocktails and Mai Tai's for the lady. You dine on fake Polynesian food, liberally dosed with MSG. You have a great time. In the background they are playing the 'ritual of the Savage' LP.
      Whilst Les Baxter is the perfect soundtrack to a Polynesian-pop night out, 50's style, it is hard to imagine where and when you would want to hear this album today. In 1951 the music may have sounded exotic, but over half a century later most of it sounds like fairly innocuous, pleasant mood orchestral music. Individual tracks like 'Sophisticated Savage' still sound great, and would grace any classic lounge compilation.
      The original LP sleeve, reproduced for the CD, is a work of art; behind striking Tiki carvings and a jungle backdrop a couple dance in their best 'Strictly Ballroom' attire. Used copies of this album must have flown out of thrift stores on the strength of the cover alone.
      As a bonus, the seven song 'Passions' LP is also included. Baxter tried to evoke Passion, Ecstasy, Terror, etc, with the aid of Bas Sheva's wordless vocals. To some, the shrieks, groans and howls are a fascinating study in incredibly strange music. Personally I find them brave experiments that are impossible to listen to all the way through.
www.revola.co.uk
Phil Suggitt

JOHN CALE
Paris 1919 (Rhino; CD)
     Following the experimentation of Academy in Peril, Cale delivered 1919, which is often said to be his most accessible album. Those looking for his work with the Velvets or Lamonte Young will be disappointed. Although he hinted at this side of himself on Vintage Violence, it took three more years to come to fruition.
     A very European flavour permeates this album despite containing an American backup band that consisted of Lowell George and Richie Hayward of Little Feat and Wilton Felder of The Crusaders who rose to the occasion with great ease. The album is full of achingly beautiful melodies, string arrangements and much oblique wordplay. Stately yet delicate, Haunting yet uplifting.
     Songs veer from the baroque styling of 'Andalucia' and 'Half Past France 'to the album's only bonafide rocker 'Lady Macbeth'.
     There's not much I could make a fair comparison with except for Kevin Ayers, who obviously shared a similar vision. The reissue is bolstered by expertly written liner notes and a whole slew of alternate versions, rehearsals and outtakes.
     I'm assuming everyone has heard this album, so if you haven't, trample all in your path and get a copy and if it's an old friend to you, then you need the bonus tracks.
www.rhino.com
Eric Colin Reidelberger

FICKLE PICKLE
Sinful Skinful (Sanctuary; CD)
     Sanctuary are to be congratulated on putting this collection into the public arena and returning to what they always did so well in the past, which is to exhume long defunt albums and put them in their Sunday best. I concur with David Wells in his detailed explanatory liner notes that it is an act of public service as it is not likely to be any kind of money spinner! However, quite how the sleeve blurb of 'long lost psych classic' can be justified I'm not sure. Certainly it is long lost and if you go by the very best ingredients on the disc, it is indeed a pop classic. It is not though, in any shape or form 'psych'. There are some nice dayglo pop touches for sure but that's as far as it goes. Pedentry apart, to assemble not just the orignal album, but no less than 14 associated bonus tracks for an act so well buried is no mean feat. This is a fine collection (with no small thanks to Mark Frumento here for ferreting out some of the bonus singles). The Fickle Pickle LP itself (tracks 1-12 and only ever originally released in the Netherlands) leaves no room for fence sitting. Its best tracks are blissful, sublime almost majestically effortless pop classics; 'Sandy', 'Saturday', 'Sunshine Pie', 'Barcelona' all employ strong harmonies and melodies and leave you speechless at their craft. Of the bonuses 'Millionaire', 'Sam And Sadie', 'The Letter' (no, not that one), 'Here And Now' and 'Ask The People' all stand out for their first class writing, production and execution. Others on the LP (but not in the other bonus tracks) I find incomprehensible despite Wells's best efforts to justify them. OK, if you are a Bonzo's / Neil Innes fan, (and just listen to the rhythm of 'California Calling' or 'Just An Old Fashioned Love Song', aren't they 'Urban Spaceman' in disguise??) you may well hear (what seem to me to be) novelty tracks like 'Dr Octopus' or the Flannigan and Allan –like 'Blown Away' as gentle or whimsical pop. I find them alas, irritating, even the melletron can't save 'Blown Away' for me, such tracks remind me of a similarly irritating album of the time, Jigsaw's Leatherslade Farm. The collective Pickle talents of  Geoff Gill, Cliff Wade, Steve Howden and Will Malone were such presumably, that they did this sort of thing for a giggle. As Wade notes, the LP was a form of songsmithery target practice. In this, they hit the bullseye more often they missed the target altogether thankfully.
      I've had the LP on a CD-R for some time and always opined the lack of more of the same of its best material. In the fourteen (count 'em!) bonus tracks, there is far more continuity. Even where the lyrics are still half –assed Bonzos-esque, the tunes to which they are set are infinitely better than on the LP's equivalents. 'The Man With One Leg', Poor Little Frogs', 'Old Feet, New Socks', 'Sweet Wilfred – A Rodent of Note' – about a 'homosexual Stoat' no less, work because of the collective talents of the group being apllied with feeling. Then they do stuff like 'Holiday Farm', which is much more like a gentle piece of English pop wimsey. They do a good cop of 'Maybe I'm Amazed' (put out as a single because McCartney wouldn't himself) and a bland generic version of 'American Pie' (put out before Don McLean's in the UK to try and elbow ahead with it), otherwise all the tunes are originals. The bonus tracks are both Fickle Pickle and associated projects of the same time frame, which Wells gives the lo-down on to good effect. One that is missing, presumably because of time constraints - this is a 79+ minute cd you know, is Buggy's 'The Rolly Pole Coaster' / 'Harry The Keeper', the latter at least is a wholey endearing novelty song and it would be nice to see it included on a related project at some point. Taken as a whole, its 26 tracks present a collection of significant substance and help fill a substantial gap in British pop history, which even in this know-all age are still being revealed. Full marks to everyone involved with this project, which is as much an exercise in public history as pop musical archiving. Buy it at mid price on Amazon and rejoice!!
www.sanctuaryrecords.co.uk
Paul Martin

REG KING
Reg King (Circle; CD/LP)
     Followers of The Action and early Mighty Baby will obviously know that Reg King was the singer in those groups and that he was a kind of hipsters 'voice of a generation'. By 1971, although King and the rest of Mighty Baby had ostensibly parted ways, they were still working together, not least on his solo album of that year. King had been offered production work by Giorgio Golemsky at his Marmalade label. This resulted in King's production of Gary Farr's Take Something With You album which also featured members of Mighty Baby. Anyone familiar with any of Farr's post T Bones solo albums of the early 70s (Take Something With You, Strange Fruit and Addressed To The Censors of Love) will recognise the influence in King's solo album. The album is a mixture of reworkings of Rolled Gold era Action numbers such as 'In My Dreams' and new originals. By this time however, King seems to have decided he wanted his voice to be equalised in the mix rather than be a key feature of it. Hence the impression of a band jamming session on tracks like the 11+ minute 'Savanah' in which King's voice does not so much sing as emote within the general mêlée of sound. On tracks like 'Down The Drain' however, King sings with more clarity. The album suffers (if that is the right word) from a lack of strong identity, not least because of King's reported lack of confidence. King did not seemingly use the album as a platform to re-lauch himself as a singer with a band of musicians that bonded, but rather he chose from a liberal pool of muso mates in Mighty Baby and BB Blunder and Marmalade label players such as Blossom Toes. The resultant sound is sometimes a mish-mash of jamming whilst others are apparent moments of clarity in which a definite style is being addressed. This happens on opener 'Must Be Something Else Around' and the album's single 'Little Boy' for instance. The album overall, is not one which is likely to stand out on the first play, but with repeated plays, it sinks in, rather like a coating of wood preserver on freshly seasoned pine. The more you play it, the more you find the grain and trace the contours. This is also the case I found with Gary Farr's albums. This Circle reissue comes with a liberal sprinkling of out takes and alternative versions and the usual great packaging and presentation that Circle always deliver. Some of the extras are enlightening for the way they show the more melodic side of King's delivery in the lighter rough takes. Meanwhile, Mark Raison tells the story of the Reg King album in detail in the liners. I am not surprised that the album didn't click when first released for the reasons given – just compare the album version of '10,000 Miles' with the Mighty Baby version (both present on the CD version at least and both interesting but different). Even though it is very much in tune with the spirit of the times, it lacks a certain direction. Over the years however, both it and King's reputations have flourished and listening to the album 35 years after it's release, you can hear the history and the worth of it. In general then, I'd recommend this for anyone with the willingness to listen in depth rather than wanting instant aural gratification, this is definitely a listener's rather than a dancer's LP. It is though, a good album that deserves your ear time. I suspect you will find it maturing in your estimation with each play.
www.circlerecords.co.uk
Paul Martin

THE MOVE
Message From The Country (EMI; CD)
     A really superb start to what promises to be a spectacular series of Move reissues to continue onward into 2006 from EMI. Message From The Country being the first of these new CD reissues and ironically, their last album. You'll definitely enjoy having fantastic sound, great packaging, rare photos, and detailed liner notes detailing the sessions. The Move right up to now haven't really been given top-notch sound in the reissue dept. but, Move/ELO reissue mainman, Rob Caiger is setting that right with this album and, did so in 2001/2003 with the first two ELO albums accessing master tapes. The band at this point (Roy Wood, Bev Bevan, Jeff Lynne) in '71 were basically having fun and experimenting knowing that they were morphing into the Electric Light Orchestra as these last Move sessions progressed. Thus, the eclectic spirit that prevails on the album. Hey, it makes sense as they were recording that 1st ELO album at the same time therefore, stripped-down ELO overtones pop-up throughout. Bonus tracks include the A's & B-sides of MFTC era Move singles: 'Do Ya', 'Chinatown', 'Tonight', 'Down On The Bay' and 'California Man.'      They're all upbeat gems and really add a lot making for an even stronger album now. Also tagged on are a couple unreleased session versions of 'Don't mess me up', 'The Words of Aaron', & 'Do Ya.' The title track 'MFTC' is still a fabulous tune really setting the tone and has never sounded better anywhere than on here. Delightfully whimsical 'No Time' comes across like a lost Beatles track ala 'Cry Baby Cry.' 'Don't Mess Me Up' is goofy Elvis '50s R&R that Roy Wood would later take with him when he split ELO in '72 to form Wizzard. 'Until Your Mama's Gone' is pretty bluesy-heavy with background horns added to stomping nature whilest adding ragtime acoustic guitar touches in spots. Going a little proto-progressive on 'It Wasn't My Idea To Dance.' Bev's lone vocal track, 'Ben Crawley Steel Company' is a goofy Johnny Cash tribute and he sounds a bit like the man in black. 'The Words Of Aaron' is more Beatles '67 inspiration done '70s style with heavier bass and early synth flashes. 'My Marge' is a fun agtime/Vaudeville or UK dancehall tribute done ala The Beatles' 'You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)' that, you can visualiae someone tap dancing in the background. Get the UK CD as, it features a slightly bigger booklet than the European version and, it doesn't have that annoying copy-controlled protection software. Recommended.
Steve Elliott

NAZZ
Nazz
Nazz Nazz Including Nazz III: The Fungo Bat Sessions (both Sanctuary; CDs)
     About bloody time too! My old Rhino vinyl copies of Nazz's three LPs are virtually transparent through overplaying and Sanctuary's 2003 anthology Open Our Eyes (have a lookie here) only left this fan wanting due to its illogical running order and flat, unsympathetic mastering. Check it out then cue up an original slab of Nazz vinyl and hear the difference yourself. They're worlds apart.
     While the sound issue may not have been addressed for these new, expanded editions, you can't argue with the content. The classic self-titled 1968 debut benefits from twelve bonus tracks (the sleeve only states eleven), albeit largely comprised of various demos and alternate takes of 'Open My Eyes' and 'Hello It's Me'. There are early stabs at 'Crowded' featuring some endearingly sloppy vocal harmonies and frantic live in the studio rips through 'Magic Me', 'Lemming Song' and Tiny Bradshaw's Yardbirds-hijacked 'Train Kept A Rollin''. There's even a version of 'Lemming Song' cut by Todd Rundgren's previous band Woody's Truck Stop, which lacks Nazz's show-stopping Jeff Beck-u-like treatment but still stands up surprisingly well. Throw in a bunch of hilarious (it says here) radio commercials ("Your Nazz is showing", "I just spray 'em with this little can of Nazz" etc) and a couple of nice photos of the chaps in their Granny Takes A Trip To The Ball Game duds and it's a done deal.
     The band rather ambitiously conceived the follow-up as a double album and Christened it Fungo Bat after a line from 'Loosen Up', their tongue-in-cheek remake of Archie Bell & The Drells' 'Tighten Up'. They duly cut enough material for this purpose during protracted sessions through much of 1969, including a day at London's Trident Studio before they were kicked out of the country due to an oversight with their work permits. The fact that 'Hello It's Me' had become a belated minor hit didn't hold much sway with their label SGC and the eventual Nazz Nazz was a single, eleven track affair, utilising what the band considered the pick of the crop of the new material.
     It's an almost flawless set featuring the perfect pop opener 'Forget All About It', heart-wrenching ballad 'Gonna Cry Today', heavy rock tour de force 'Under The Ice' and stunning eleven-minute epic 'A Beautiful Song' and should be regarded as a classic of late '60s rock music. A third long-player, the imaginatively titled Nazz III, appeared in late 1970 after the band had split and Rundgren's hit solo career had afforded them some retrospective kudos. It gathered 13 more tracks from the sessions into a less cohesive and occasionally Todd-centric piece which still left off-cuts like 'Sydney's Lunchbox', 'Sing Me A Song' and 'Love Everywhere' (AKA 'It Must Be Everywhere') languishing in the vaults. These tracks are included here alongside previously unreleased Todd-sung versions of seven album tracks including Nazz III gems 'Take The Hand' and 'How Can You Call That Beautiful?'.
     A fascinating and possibly definitive addendum to the story of one of our most beloved bands.
www.sanctuaryrecords.co.uk
Andy Morten

THE RIPCHORDS
Summer USA: The Best of the Ripchords (Sundazed; CD)
     A twenty track compilation from Terry Melcher, Bruce Johnston, Phil Stewart and Ernie Bring as alias the Ripchords BUT since most fans will already have the previous Sundazed re-issues of their two albums with bonus tracks from a few years ago attention centres on the three previously unreleased tracks. 'Wiameah Bay' is NOT the Jan and Dean track from their Ride The Wild Surf album but a really cool Melcher/Johnston instrumental. 'Stingray' by the same writers is a 'Little Deuce Coupe' rewrite but the real find is 'XKE' written by Melcher and Roger Christian, recorded September '64, a really great track with layers of harmonies which would have been a big hit if released at the time.
     So to sum up an all killer no filler compilation from The Ripchords containing all their singles,I nformative notes by surf expert Stephen McParland and Jud Cost, (I didn't know 'The Queen' was about Jackie DeShannon) and a perfect summertime soundtrack.
www.sundazed.com
Pat Curran

P F SLOAN
Sailover (Hightone; CD)
     A new CD of old and new songs by the great P F Sloan, recorded for the most part in Nashville and produced by Jon Tiven. Thing get off to a great start with a duet with Lucinda Williams on the classic 'Sins of the Family' and other duets include Felix Cavaliere on 'Where were you when I needed You', Frank Black on 'Halloween Mary' and Frank Black and Buddy Miller on the ubiquitous 'Eve of Destuction' as topical now as it was when it was first recorded. The other classic P F song is the albums closer 'From A Distance ' and herein lies the problem. No matter what the lyrical content of his songs
P F always had a great melodic hook to hang them on and sadly this is not the case with the newer material which pales in comparison to his well known Dunhill era songs.
     Now this might just be a case of familiarity as the album is well produced having a dense sound with an underpinning organ reminiscent of Al Kooper's work on Highway 61 and is very listenable, it's just that although the lyrical content is as acerbic as ever eg 'Violence' and 'All That Time
     Allows' you keep wondering where the tunes are. Perhaps in hindsight mixing old and new songs wasn't such a great idea after all.
www.hightone.com
Pat Curran

THE SOMELOVES
Don't Talk About Us: The Real Pop Recordings Of The Someloves 1985-89 (Half A Cow 2 X CD)
     The Someloves 1990 album Something Or Other is regarded as one of the finest power pop albums ever. Whilst it is a fine melodic guitar led pop album, I wouldn't go that far. I've played this CD reissue of it three times now and am only just picking up on the melodies; maybe I'm just slow. This impressive reissue couples the original (and speed corrected apparently) album on disc one with nine non-album or alternate take tracks on disc two (the combined total clocking in at c.88 minutes). You have to be into the rather compressed jingle jangle guitar sound that every track is based on to really get into it. Superficially, it comes across as a bright aural sheen, but without much individuality in each song. However, as of my third listening, I am pretty hooked on opener 'Melt' not least because it includes a great little retro acid guitar break that stands out from the otherwise ringing and chiming string-picked guitar chords. I also really like 'I Didn't Mean That' which has a distinctive melody also. There is at times, I found, also a slight country rock undertow to some numbers. That's no bad thing, but it might explain (for me anyway) the less welcome inclusion of peddle steel in Dom Marriani's later work that I always find interupts what are otherwise some magical pop moments. Disc 2, is a lot more instantaneously likeable 'Don't Talk About Us' is rightly revered as their defining moment, it has a power and drive that really delivers those chiming chords with a punch. 'Jack Robinson' is a good tune as is 'She's A Better Lover'. The double CD comes with a 36 page colour booklet choc full of pics, a selective discographical timeline and the full Someloves story as well as interviews with the groups songwriters Dom Marriani and Darryl Mather. Weather you're already a Someloves convert or just curious about them, you will want this, it's a brilliant package and does justice to the group's legacy.  
www.halfacow.com.au
Paul Martin

SWEETWATER
Sweetwater (Collectors Choice; CD)
     Previously only available via a compilation on Rhino Handmade, Collectors Choice have released the three Reprise albums by the 7/8 member  multi faceted group that mixed jazz, folk, rock, soul, classical and latin influences into a heady brew. Featuring classically trained cello and flute players and a conga player (but no guitarist) and an awesome girl vocalist in Nancy Nevins, the groups self titled 1968 debut album produced by Dave Hassinger (who refused to watch them live) is none the less a stunning achievement. Every track is a delight with standouts being 'In a Rainbow' with its flute solos, the opener 'Motherless Child' with an accappella opening Brian Wilson would be proud of and the psychedelic Jefferson Airplane sounding 'My Crystal Spider'.
www.ccmusic.com
Pat Curran

SAL VALENTINO
Come Out Tonight  (FPR; CD)
     A new effort from former Beau Brummels and Stoneground front man Sal Valentino whose distinctive voice graces the eleven tracks on this CD, three written by himself and others by Johnny Cash, Jimmy Webb and Peter Case. The playing and singing are uniformly good throughout. Highlights include 'Folsom
Prison Blues', 'The Highwayman' and Sal's own 'Come Out Tonight'. This is a far better effort than one could expect at this stage in his career and is a labour of love from all concerned.
www.fatpete.com/artists/sal_valentino.php
Pat Curran

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Bury My Body: Rare US Garage Sounds R..I.P (Fossil; CD)
     A cool collection of 23 obscure US garage 45s, many of which might be familiar to the bespoke compilation cdr trading community, but which otherwise have not found a compilation outlet. Amongst them are In's 'Just Give Me Time', Colours of Night's 'C.o.l.o.r.s', The Delcords 'I Got Wise', The Triumphs 'The Walls', The Sensational Sleepers 'Do You Feel It' and the Centuries 'I'd Cry For You'. In general, a good collection of garage sounds well worth hearing. Comes with booklet and groovy label scans.
www.w-voelkel.de
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Early Morning Hush: Notes From The UK Folk Underground 1969-1976 (Sanctuary CD)
     Beset by delays and shorn of projected inclusions from Donovan (surely the father of acid-folk) and Roy Harper, the follow-up to Sanctuary's exemplary Gather In The Mushrooms set (here she be) is finally here and finds us drifting through similarly magical territory.
     With even more of an emphasis on the distant, fragile acoustic troubadour tradition and practically no acknowledgement to the 'rock' element of folk-rock, this is a collection of truly mesmerising music that no amount of lip service from the likes of Devendra Banhart or Joanne Newsom can ever hope to truly revive. It's simply too far removed from anything else we know that it will forever remain locked to it's wayward roots like a weather-beaten limpet.
     Nothing can prepare the first-time listener for the bleakness and detachment of some of the music here. Midwinter's 'The Skater' is the most disarming opening track of any CD I've heard for some time. It's a modal drone in waltz time with an icy female lead vocal and is so unerring from it's moodiness that when Loudest Whisper's 'Lir's Lament' follows, it sounds positively poptastic by comparison.
     Pentangle, Shirley Collins, Anne Briggs and Dando Shaft all make appearances alongside obscurities from Stone Angel, Shide And Acorn and The Water Into Wine Band, whose complex and twisting 'Harvest Time' is a highlight.
     Superb stuff.
www.sanctuaryrecords.co.uk
Andy Morten

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Neurotic Reactions (Crazy Apple Boutique; CD)
     This is a Spanish originated compilation of '20 worldwide Mod, Psych Freak Rock Smashers' says the subtitle. It is indeed an interesting collection of mainly dance friendly 60s Euro pop, a sort of La Beat Bespoke type of compilation in fact. Everything on it is worth hearing even though half of the records have been compiled before. Of those that were new to me, standouts included: Argentine Carlos Bisso & Conexcion 5's 'Baby I Love You' which whilst a basic pop song has some snarling guitar moves, Procro Magnum's 'Neurotic Saga' (a more pop take on Le Papyvores psychedelic version which can be found on the Whizz compilation), two British Decca label studio acts in Bonehsaker ('Sweetness') and Primitive man ('Animal Love') which have an early 70s feel and a good vibe. The star turn however is Australian guitarists and ex-Twighlights singer/songwriter Terry Britten's 'Bargain Day'. This is a Columbia 45 released post Twighlights and issued in the UK and Australia. A great restless pop number with some smart guitar moves and a plaintive vocal, highly reminiscent of the Twighlights. Overall, a good collection with some interesting discoveries, though quite why track 4, Los Roberts 'El Saltamontes'sounds as if it is cut off before the end of the track is not explained. Apparently this is how the original 45 ended and is not a digital mastering fault. There's some breezy liner notes and eye candy in the form of label and picture sleeve shots that makes for a nicely presented package. The usual hip mail order outlets are stocking it and is certainly worth a punt.
www.guerssen.com
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Summer Beach Party: Songs from the classic Beach Movies of the 60s (Varese Vintage; CD)
     19 tracks including not just those rare Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello songs but tracks from 11 different 'Beach Party' type films none of which had a corresponding soundtrack album. All the surf music heavies are here, Jan and Dean, Beach Boys, Dick Dale, Ripchords and Astronauts as well as such classics as 'How To Stuff A Wild Bikini' (The Kingsmen) and 'Dr Goldfoot And The Bikini Machine' (Thw Beas). With informative notes by surf expert Stephen McParland and loads of film stills and posters this is ideal summer listening.
www.varesesarabande.com
Pat Curran

VARIOUS ARTISTS
White Bicycles: Making Music In The 1960s (Fledgling; CD)
     Joe Boyd's presence in the underground music scene of the late 1960s and '70s was almost omnipresent and demands a book of it's own. Which is probably why he's written one and compiled this hugely impressive CD to listen to whilst marveling at his adventures in the business.
     It's testament to Boyd's ongoing standing in the industry that The Pink Floyd's 'Arnold Layne' makes an appearance here. The Floyd's material is notoriously difficult to license so congratulations are due to the chaps at the fast-blossoming Fledgling label that they pulled it off.
     'Arnold Layne' was one of Boyd's first assignments as a producer and although he lost subsequent Floyd gigs when he got them signed to EMI, the next few years saw his Witchseason company go from strength to strength with the production of groundbreaking releases by Fairport Convention (their seminal first four albums), The Incredible String Band (ditto), Nick Drake (Five Leaves Left and Bryter Later), Vashti Bunyan (Just Another Diamond Day), John & Beverley Martin (Stormbringer), Nico (Desertshore) and Fotheringay (Fotheringay) among others.
     All of the above artists are represented here alongside a host of lesser-known cuts including Eric Clapton & The Powerhouse's raucous pre-Cream rendition of 'Crossroads', The Purple Gang's sly jug band near-hit 'Granny Takes A Trip', The Soft Machine's scrapped 1967 raver 'She's Gone' and Geoff & Maria Muldaur's hypnotic semi-easy listening curio 'Brazil'. Phew!
     Pretty much essential for fans of late '60s Brit psych and folk sounds.
www.thebeesknees.com
Andy Morten

WOOL
Wool (Delay 68; CD)
     It seems there was more to this New York combo than their collector-baiting floor filler 'Love, Love, Love, Love, Love' after all. An entire album of crisply-recorded funky soul-influenced pop tunes co-produced by none other than Margo Guryan and carried beautifully by Ed and Claudia Wool's warm vocal interplay, this would have sounded perfect in the night club scene in Midnight Cowboy alongside The Groop and Elephant's Memory.
     The LP boasts an eclectic choice of material that leans heavily on cover versions including a taut reading of 'Combination Of The Two' that blows Big Brother's original out of the water, a more than respectable stab at The Band's 'To Kingdom Come' (when did you last hear a half-decent Band cover anyway?) and a mogadon-loaded 'Anyway That You Want Me' that threatens to doze off at any moment but keeps you coming back for more. Only the pointless nine-minute filler 'Funky Walk' outstays its welcome.
     A great discovery from the chaps at Delay 68.
www.delay68records.co.uk
Andy Morten