THE ACTION
Uptight And Outasight (Circle; LP/2-CD)
     Remember when we thought Edsel's The Ultimate Action comp was all there was? Then 'Wasn't It You?' and 'Come On Come With Me' appeared. Then the post-Action Dustbin Full Of Rubbish 10". Then 'Just Once In My Life' on The Ultimate Action CD. Then a whole CD full of Brain demos followed by the superior Rolled Gold edition. And now this most mythical and well-loved of all the '60s mod groups gets the BBC sessions treatment courtesy of those excellent fellows at Circle Records.
     Action faves 'I'll Keep On Holding On', 'Baby You've Got It', 'Never Ever' and a jaw-dropping 'Shadows And Reflections' are here in all their authentic analog glory along with a selection of covers that never made the studio; 'Uptight', 'Mine Exclusively', 'Take Me In Your Arms', 'Going To A Go-Go' and, at the patchouli-scented end of the spectrum, a frantic romp through The Byrds' 'I See You' and John Coltrane's 'India' rendered in flute and percussion and rescued from being entirely instrumental by Reg King's vocal scats. Sadly, selections from only three of the eight BBC sessions cut by the band between April '66 and December '67 could be salvaged so live renditions of The Association's 'Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies' and mysterious titles like 'Passing Cloud' remain tantalisingly out of reach.
     The nature of the source material means that the sound quality veers from excellent to poor but the energy of the band's performances shines through on every cut and it's really good to hear alternate versions of songs that have been buried deep in one's mind for so many years. The 18-month transition from Tufnell Park golden boys to Golden Gate Park flower children is illustrated perfectly within these 12 tracks. The beautifully-designed booklet features an excellent in-depth essay from Nigel Lees as well as stacks of photos and memorabilia and the CD edition includes a second CD containing one of the reformed band's 1998 London live shows.
     An excellent package.
www.circlerecords.co.uk
Andy Morten

TOMMY BOYCE & BOBBY HART
I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite (Hip-O Select; CD)
     That Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart wrote such classic tunes for The Monkees as 'Last Train To Clarksville', '(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone' and 'Valleri' was both a blessing and a curse. The success of those tunes brought them great fame as songwriters, but also tended to obscure the fact that they were excellent performers in their own right, having released three fine albums and scoring a Top 10 hit. I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite is by far the best of their albums, featuring sophisticated songwriting and arrangements by the duo, creating a sound not unlike the softer side of Paul Revere & The Raiders, as found on their Evolution and Something's Happening albums.
     The obvious showcase on I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite is the aforementioned Top 10 title track, with its peppy backbeat and horns (gotta also love Boyce exhorting "come on, now" and "all right Bobby, let's go"), but the album has several other highlights, including "Pretty Flower," which may be as wimpy as a hamburger but contains some nice string flourishes, the pretty acoustic 'Love Every Day', 'Goodbye Baby (I Don't Want To See You Cry)', which is marked by eerie background vocals counterbalanced against chirpy horns, and 'I'm Digging You Digging Me', which could have been a hit if its tempo was just a bit faster. The boys step out of the box a bit with 'Population', a tongue in cheek social conscience rave-up on which their rhyming of words foreshadows 'Give Peace A Chance' - you gotta love the line "grass is growing higher, but how 'bout you?" - and 'Two For The Price Of One' (the only song on the album they didn't write), a silly send up on which they come off like a suburban Sam & Dave, giving props to each other for the cars they drive and for "messin' up the cutie pies' minds".
     As with most Hip-O Select releases, I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite is packaged in "mini LP form", meaning that it's a bit bigger than the standard CD. The good folks at Hip-O Select mastered the album in mono, as they felt the stereo mix was too extreme, so if you already own the Japanese CD or one of the bootlegs that have circulated, you just can't call yourself a Boyce & Hart completist unless you get the Hip-O Select issue.
     Note: you cannot buy this CD in stores; it can only be purchased through www.hip-oselect.com)
David Bash

RAY COLUMBUS
The Solo Years (EMI New Zealand; SACD)
     Ray Columbus & The Invaders were one of the earliest and most successful national beat groups in New Zealand in the 60s. When they split in '66, Columbus headed stateside, forming his own Colstar label (looked after by his Torstar management team) and released a slew of should-have-been hit 45s before returning to New Zealand hosting the popular COM's TV show and with an increased interest in management. A few of Columbus's solo 45s have found sporadic compilation, but here they all are in one cosy place. The set kicks off with some solid '66 era beat fair in the shape of 'We Want A Beat', 'There's No Room In The "In Crowd"' and 'She's A Mod '66'. These are interspersed with beat ballads in a vaguely Dylan-esque style such as 'I've Been There Baby' and 'I Need You'. There then follows the two recorded tracks with US band 'The Art Collection' in 'Kick Me' and 'Snap, Crackle & Pop', two paisley pop beaters of a high order. The Art Collection then went on to transform into Powder and therein lies another story, told at the time of the reissue of their album on CD some time ago.
     From thereon, barring the last two (pretty lame sounding, late 70s) tracks, let there be pop! You need to hear all of Columbus's self-penned late 60s pop output, you really do: 'East Pinkerton Street', Polka Dot Resistance', 'I Would Rather Blow A Bagpipe Mrs Leare', 'In Memory of Today', 'Happy Is A Sad Kind of Way', 'Los Angeles', I could go on! Put it this way, if the recent Wayne Fontana collection (see reviews Nov/Dec 2004) put a smile on your face, this is that musical style's Antipodean brother. Orchestrated and soft pop fans need this set badly, it's got to be the Kiwi's best kept 60s musical secret. Even EMI NZ put it out so quietly you wouldn't have known it had existed (thanks to Daniel McGlyn for pointing it my way). The only downside is that it is alas an SACD that means car, personal and computer CD players for instance may find it a tricky proposition to play, but it sounds great on any standard hi-fi CD player. Fortunately, the SACD system has been abandoned as it contravened agreed industry standards on digital sound quality (i.e. there were thousands of complaints about it!). The liners are useful and informative but are slim on dates and end rather abruptly (and anonymously).
     That aside, this is a must-have disc for pop heads everywhere.
http://store.nzmusic.com/cd/35176
Paul Martin

BILLIE DAVIS
Her Best 1963-1970 (Oxford; CD)
     Born Carol Hedges, she entered and won a talent contest in 1962 and backed up by Cliff Bennett's Rebel Rousers, she won it. Introduced to Joe Meek by Bennett, she recorded unsuccessfully for him. Then, discovered by Robert Stigwood, she was re launched as 'Billie Davis' after her musical inspirations Billie Holiday and Sammy Davis Jr. She recorded a novelty hit in 1962 with Mike Sarne in his follow up to 'Come Outside' called 'Will I What?' Thereafter she recorded a slew of 45s, not least, for the PYE label, but never quite making it to the heights that her best work deserved. Oddly Davis is more likely to appear on northern soul comps for her faster, blue-eyed soul crossover numbers than she is in conventional girl-pop sounds. In the modern period, there has never been an anthology of her 60s output and Oxford is to be congratulated in getting this done at last.
     The first thirteen tracks comprised a self-titled overview LP released in 1970, which collected material from 1963-70. These include groovy big band sounds like her '68 minor hit 'I Want You To Be My Baby', 'Make The Feeling Go Away' and 'Me About You', interspersed with good readings of 'Nights In White Satin' and Jethro Tull's 'Living In The Past' and her own northern soul favourite 'Billie Sunshine'. The remaining tracks are singles from '63-'70 and include such delicious material as 'Suffer', 'There Must Be A Reason', Alan David's 'Love', Chuck Willis's 'Watcha Gonna Do' and the splendid 'Vendid Conmigo'. In places the set sounds rather disjointed as the LP is not chonologically sequenced, but ends in 1970 only for the singles to begin again in 1963. That minor quibble apart, and aside from maybe one or two basic attempts at MOR, this is an alternately gracious and swinging set which you'd do well to investigate.
Paul Martin

DRY ICE
Mary's Meth Dream (American Sound; LP)
     OK, first the physical aspect, the packaging. A limited and numbered edition of 300. Pressed on white vinyl and housed in a thick card cover with b/w pasted on sleeve designs. It looks and 'feels' like a classic '70s great white wonder, both nostalgic and splendid! So what about the music? The fourteen tracks were recorded between 1967-69 '…at Fleetwood and some other forgotten studio in Malden…' (and that's not in Surrey!) and may or may not represent the entire output of the legendary US psychsters. Dry Ice's rep hangs on two genre defining moments in the form of 'Mary Is Alone' ('Mary is alone and wants to live but all she sees is death, Mary is alone and wants to live but all she sees is meth' - hence the LP title) and 'Mr Sawyer'. Both these are present and correct, in fact in 'Mary's' case it is over-present, there are three takes included. The third, which is the final track on side 2, seems to be a mix and match of the other two to demonstrate how they differ (i.e. one is the released version, the other a demo).
     Mr Sawyer, a great US styled popsiker has just the one appearance whilst other originals (all written by band member John Tata) 'Ocean' and 'Sunny Day' appear twice each (see if you can hear a difference). Both these numbers have a strong affinity to Mr Sawyer's lightweight psych rock approach and are highly enjoyable. Then there is the cover of Sonny Boy Williams II's 'Eyesight To The Blind', which is neither a straight copy or a dreary blues rock dirge. It's short and sweet but reinvents the song in suitably lysergic tones. 'Let's Go Down' is a quiet and introspective number that makes you want to "shhh" other people in the room. Other covers are less adventurous and will have as much (or more) appeal to garage heads as to anyone else. 'I Saw Her Standing There', 'Oh Darling', 'Lucy Mae' and 'Sweet Little Sue' are all nicely fluid renditions with acid blues guitar breaks but which don't outstay their welcome and which as complete numbers have a distinct late era garage feel. Probably these are a taste of what comprised their usual live set. Overall the sound quality is good and as a whole the package represents a genuine (most of these recordings have not been issued before) and (a warmly welcomed) old-world type of collector's piece.
     If you're a vinyl sentimentalist or a US 60s psych/rock fan, this is something you're going to want.
www.w-voelkel.de/leftcol/sparten/Display1.htm
Paul Martin

THE GRASS ROOTS
Leaving It All Behind (Hip-O Select; CD)
     The Grass Roots were one of the most prolific hit-making machines in the United States, scoring Top 40 hits like clockwork, 14 of 'em altogether (this may come as a surprise to UK readers, as The Grass Roots didn't have any hits there)! They were fortunate enough to be given songs by some of the most high-profile hit-making songwriting teams in the business, like Sloan/Barri, Price/Walsh, and Lambert/Potter, and they also possessed an amazing lead vocalist in Rob Grill, whose strong, assured, pliable pipes graced virtually all of their hits. While most '60s cognoscente will acknowledge a fondness for the Grass Roots early, folk-rock period, some tend to dismiss the later material as "throwaway bubblegum". This is the furthest thing from the truth, as the fifth Grass Roots proper album, Leaving It All Behind, will attest.
     The album is highlighted by the irresistible hits 'Heaven Knows' and the lightly psychedelic 'I'd Wait A Million Years' (co-written by the immortal Gary Zekley), as well as a couple of other Grill-fronted "could've-been-hits", 'I'm Livin' For You, Girl' and 'Out Of This World'. But Leaving It All Behind proves that the Grass Roots were more than a one-trick pony, and hardly the "wimps" they have sometimes been pigeonholed to be. The band featured three other very capable lead vocalists in guitarist Warren Entner, keyboardist Dennis Provisor, and drummer Rick Coonce, each of whom furnish additional hues. Entner's 'Don't Remind Me', which he also wrote, is a cool country tune; Provisor is quite the blue-eyed soul man on 'Take Him While You Can' and 'Walking Through The Country' and Coonce chimes in with some down home honky tonk on 'Truck Drivin' Man' which he also wrote.
Leaving It All Behind is packaged in a handsome mini-LP gatefold jacket", and it's a bit bigger than the standard CD. The time has come for The Grass Roots to no longer be dismissed as merely a "singles group", and Leaving It All Behind goes a long way in eradicating that stereotype!
As before, you cannot buy this CD in stores; it can only be purchased through www.hip-oselect.com
David Bash

ICE
Ice Man (Angel Air; CD)
     Ice are one of a handful of late 60s British groups (see also Turquoise and The Fairytale, both also Decca artists) whose reputations were frozen (geddit?) after a couple of near-perfect singles. They never screwed up their 100% track record by cutting a lame album whilst on a downward curve a year later and also remained anonymous enough to become cult heroes in the eyes of pop-psych collectors. Those four Ice sides from 1967 and '68 - 'Anniversary (Of Love)', 'So Many Times', 'Ice Man' and the staggering 'Whisper Her Name (Maria Laine)' – are redolent of that whole Brit harmony pop movement whilst sounding light years removed from it, more akin to a pretension-free Procol Harum or a beatific, hash-mellowed Alan Bown Set. Glyn James' voice is soul-inflected without ever being showy, allowing those massed choral harmonies to shine and the songs are uniformly exquisite.
     So it was as a confirmed devotee of this band that I approached this CD with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. The packaging didn't bode well with the classic photo of the band being relegated to the inner sleeve in favour of an inappropriate snap of a boy at an ice cream stall and some cheap Austin Powers-style text adorning the front cover. The four single sides open the disc, followed by the scrapped second single, 'Walk On The Water', a strong enough concoction which showcases the band's tougher soul edge. It sounds unfinished however, boasting none of the velveteen harmonies that lift the released material. It's planned flipside, 'Time's Fading Fast' suffers from the same feeling of incompleteness but is by far the stronger piece, full of ethereal melodic twists and complex chord sequences. While it's good to hear these studio-quality out-takes, it's pretty clear that neither of them were fit to be released as the follow up to 'Anniversary' and the choice of 'Ice Man' and 'Whisper Her Name' was certainly the right one.
     Next up are four tracks cut live for     the BBC in 1968. Sadly the only originals here are 'Ice Man', albeit a fine interpretation almost identical to the studio version and 'Wide Blue Yonder Boy', an undistinguished MOR soul foot-tapper. Likewise, the remaining covers of The Beatles' 'Day Tripper' and Darrell Banks' 'Open The Door To Your Heart' don't do the band many favours, painting them as a lounge-friendly club act.
     The demos and live cuts that fill the remainder of the set could have been cut a year or two after the break-up of Ice (there are no dates in the annotation and Glyn James' own notes are perfunctory to say the least) and largely fall under the MOR pop umbrella. Closing track 'Little Girl In Wonderland' has it's moments but it's a far cry from the glory of the Ice studio sides.
     Some kudos should go to Angel Air for pulling a difficult project like this together and I would recommend it reservedly to any late 60s British pop completists but I can't help feeling that I'd rather not have heard the vast majority of this CD – fortunately it hasn't dimmed my love and respect for those Decca singles.
www.angelair.co.uk
Andy Morten

THE LOOT
Singles As & Bs (Radioactive; LP/CD)
     The Loot is one of those cult bands whose 45s sell for quite a bit these days. They are also the sort of band who if you see their name on a 60s compilation, makes you think this is probably worth buying. In fact in recent years, they have cropped up on a number of comps. A good many of their sides were collected on the very worthwhile 'Untamed And Innocent' CD some years ago. Almost ubiquitous on compilation you might be deceived into thinking you already own their entire output. You would be wrong. Go and count 'em on your comps, you will find you just have the same three or four key tracks duplicated. Radioactive have collected the groups fourteen known sides together in one place here and they include both sides of an unissued promo ('You Need Someone To Love' / 'I've Just Gotta Love You') and the French only 'Gotta Get Home' (where they had their 45s issued in picture sleeves) to name but a few. Like The Troggs, The Loot were another bunch of Andover youths, guitarist Dave Wright had indeed been an early member of The Troggs. This helped get the band signed to Larry Page's 'Page One' label, and The Troggs Ronnie Bond even produced their first 45 'She's A Winner' which is awash with top-notch Reg Presley-alike sneer as is their wonderful 'Baby Come Closer'. You won't find a duffer on this set. It's a collection of pop that ranges form the Troggs brand of pensive barely contained libido repression to gentler or more harmonic pop flavours ('Meet Jacqueline', 'Whenever You're Ready' for instance). Barring an attic or basement find of hitherto unknown acetates, this is as close as you will ever get to a Loot album, so grab it while you can (the LP edition is limited to 1000 numbered copies). It's a solid symbol of class British 60s pop, everyone a winner!
www.blueorchardrecords.com
Paul Martin

RASPBERRIES
Raspberries, Fresh (RPM; CDs)
     If at the dawning of the New Millennium you had taken bets that in the year of some people's lord, 2004, the following two things would have happened:
       1. Brian Wilson would release the Smile album, and would tour it around the world
       2. Raspberries would do a reunion show, with all four original members
you'd have been richer than Donald Trump on his best day, and would never have to hear the words "you're fired" for the rest of your life! Perhaps in celebration of the Raspberries reunion, or perhaps in recognition that Raspberries were a damn fine band, RPM has reissued their four albums, with the first two available now.
     Raspberries was a debut album that displayed a strong sense maturity, and a variety of styles within the pop framework. The three songwriters of the band, Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson, and Dave Smalley were able to flex their creative muscles, and each was able to forge their own musical identity. The album starts, fittingly, with the track that the band is most identified with, 'Go All The Way'. What a masterpiece this is - three minutes and twenty-five seconds of pure pop power! Bryson's 'Come Around And See Me' is a nice piece of folky pop that is accented by Bryson's flamenco like guitar playing and sense of humor . 'I Saw The Light' is a delicate romantic piece, highlighted by Carmen's urgent, though restrained lead vocal, wonderful harmony vocals, and one of the most memorable choruses you'll ever hear. 'Waiting' has a spare yet powerful arrangement and a melody of fragile beauty. The magnificent 'Don't Want To Say Goodbye' carries a more than vague influence of The Bee Gees, and perhaps for this reason Capitol records decided to make it the first single from the album (unfortunately, either due to poor promotion or an uninterested public, it got no higher than #86 on the Billboard charts). Smalley's 'Get It Moving' is very similar in style and quality to Joey Molland's Badfinger tracks, and the album's magnum opus, the eight minute 'I Can Remember' features many transitions, both musical and emotional, and is a definite catharsis for the listener.
     The next album, Fresh is considered by many Raspberries fans to be their best and most cohesive, with the teaming of Carmen and Smalley as songwriters.The first track onFresh, 'I Wanna Be With You' might be titled 'Go All The Way' Junior, in that it's similar in structure and lyrical content and almost as intense. 'Let's Pretend' is a beautifully innocent paean to the girl of one's dreams; Carmen codified every aural element of a blooming romance, and his soaring lead vocal reflected the wonders of being in love, but being too young to spend your whole life together. 'I Reach For The Light' is probably the most self-centered (in the true sense of the term, in no way implying anything negative) Carmen gets on the album. This lyrically and musically introspective song incorporates some new elements, including some Sgt Pepper inspired trumpet, and would do McCartney proud. Speaking of The Beatles, 'Nobody Knows' is probably the track most directly influenced by the Fab Four, as it would have fit perfectly on Beatles For Sale. 'Might As Well' is the sole Bryson composition on the album, and it's a pretty number with Bryson's familiar folkiness and British inflections, making this track very reminiscent of The Merry-Go-Round. 'If You Change Your Mind' is one of Carmen's saddest sounding tracks, and this is the perfect milieu for the lyrics, which are about a man resolved to the fact that his woman is leaving him. The final track on the album, the Carmen/Smalley-penned 'Drivin' Around' is a wonderful ode to The Beach Boys and to a time when we could cruise the streets for chicks with the top down and the radio turned up loud.
     Unlike RPM's Power Pop series of a few years ago, Raspberries and Fresh are on individual CDs, with the original cover art. Thanks to RPM for releasing these quintessential albums in their proper form, and these discs will serve to whet our appetites for the next two Raspberries reissues, due in February.
www.rpmrecords.co.uk
David Bash

THE SPEAKERS
The Speakers (no label; CD)
     If you own the latest issue of Ugly Things (and if you don't by now you deserve a smack!), then you will have read Hugo Taylor's interesting article on the history of Colombia's The Speakers (pp.106-108). In common with many other Latin pop / rock groups it seems (Peru's Los Yorks come to mind), they made two LPs, both just called 'The Speakers'. The first was recorded for the Vergara label in 1966 which contained many covers whilst the second, recorded in 1968 for Bambuko, is a self-penned affair. This is the 'The Speakers' album we have here. This CD reissue has two splendid extra tracks (not listed on the reverse of the jewel case which sticks to the original LP cover art). The packaging whilst attractive (Sgt Pepper-ish lettering for instance) gives no additional information (all their LPs have just seemingly been simultaneously reissued on CD). Opener 'Te Olvidare' is a classic piece of Latin psych. Vaguely backward guitar glissandos and period vocal harmonising put it in the same bag as Argentina's Los Walkers 'Walking Up Con Los Walkers' for instance. The rest of the disc is decidedly un-psych (this would be more fully realised on their next and final album), but is highly enjoyable proto-progressive pop with the occasional folk-like ballad which overall is enjoyable and refreshingly original. The two extra tracks are presumably a 45 A & B side contemporary with the LP. These in fact are two of the most foot tapping tracks on the disc, and deserve a wider outing on global pop and beat comps. For aficionados of South American 60s pop and beat, this is a nice addition, especially as it is a self-composed set and from a country that has had less 60s musical exposure than some (though I've yet to hear a 60s beat record by any band from Paraguay!).
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Colour Me Pop 3 (Flashback; CD)
     Wow! The third instalment in this great set of UK pop oddities is possibly the strongest so far and is in danger of out-doing it's psister psych pseries Jagged Time Lapse. As before, Flashback zoom in on major artists' moments of quirkiness (Herman's Hermits' take on Donovan's 'Museum', Dave Berry's Bee Gees-penned 'Forever'), the same acts' deliberate attempts to get hip (Peter & Gordon's backwards tape-led 'I Feel Like Going Out', The Scaffold's uber-groovy 'Charity Bubbles'), international appearances (Blond's all-conquering 'I Wake Up And Call', The New Inspirations' infectious 'Thinking About The Good Times'), stray B-sides (Mike 'Mr Commuter' Proctor's 'Sunday, Sunday, Sunday', John Bromley's excellent 'Wonderland Avenue USA') and bona fide never-heard-of-it obscurities (too many to mention!).
     The sound quality and artwork are great for a DIY release with complete track annotations and simple liners rounding off this great package.
     And many thanks for introducing me to Manfred Mann's '66 EP track 'She Needs Company', my official new favourite song!
andy@james.karoo.co.uk
Andy Morten

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Motown Sings Motown Treasures: Volumes 1 & 2 (Hip-O Select; CDs)
     The Motown group of labels was one big, happy (sometimes) family and its exalted leader, Berry Gordy, was perhaps the shrewdest businessman of all time. For one thing, he figured out that The Jackson Five could have more than one huge single on the chart at a given time by attributing one to the group and the other to Michael Jackson, when they both had essentially the same cast of characters. Another things was that he subscribed to Occam's Razor; choose parsimony over excess whenever possible, and that's exactly what he did when he determined that it was better to have his artists do versions of Motown hits on their albums, which effectively reduced the number of tunes his stable of writers would have to deliver for each album. Such is the substance of Motown Sings Motown Treasures, a two-disc, 45-track set of tunes recorded by Motown artists that were in-fact hits for other Motown artists!
     This collection is a nice mixture of Motown's heavyweights and more obscure artists, with people like Hallie Littles, Tommy Good, Dennis Edwards, Blinky, and The Fantastic Four making up the latter. As Gordy had an uncanny knack for choosing talent, as well as support from The Funk Brothers, who were the best ensemble of musicians ever to walk the face of the earth, and songwriters/producers like Holland-Dozier-Holland and Norman Whitfield, it's a slam dunk that each of these cuts are top shelf, the best of which are Smokey's take on 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine', 'You've Really Got A Hold On Me' by The Jackson Five and 'What Becomes Of The Broken-hearted (Smile)' by The Isley Brothers, on which Ronnie Isley's smooth, yearning vocals propel demo lyrics to veritable manna from the gods. However, the most compelling tunes on Motown Sings Motown Treasures are those which transform the song into something completely different, as Kim Weston does with a slower, more intense 'Stop! In The Name Of Love' and The Underdogs do with a faster, sassier 'The Way You Do The Things You Do', plus you'll finally be able to decipher all the lyrics of 'I Want You Back' when you hear David Ruffin's gutsy version. Finally, this collection definitely wins the "who the hell would have expected him to be on this CD?" award with 'Ask Any Man' by none other than that noted soul man, Tony Martin (yes, that Tony Martin), whose gender bending version may be a bit overwrought, but you'll sheepishly admit that it's much better than you'd have ever expected.
     Informative track-by-track liners round out this collection. Motown Sings Motown Treasures was a long time coming, and definitely worth the wait, and its weight, in gold…records.
www.hip-oselect.com
David Bash

VARIOUS ARTISTS Mr Toytown Presents Volume 2: Nightmares At Toby's Shop (Toytown Recordings; CD)
     Last year's Mr Toytown Presents collection was one of the most refreshing and downright out there comps of recent years. Lord knows how it's blend of kitsch Euro pop, hippy folk and certifiable psychedelia worked… but it did. And to prove it, here's some more!
     Volume 2 kicks off with what may be it's three most lunatic tracks: Francois Wertheimer's 'Le Compagnon De Voyage' (a disquieting soup of grandoise orchestration, acid fuzz guitar and screaming… in French), The Ekseption's 'On Sunday They Will Kill The World' (doom-laden prog-pop with horns) and Chubby Checker's 'My Mind' (yes, it's him and in 1971 he sounded like a kind of bubblegum Hendrix backed by a grown-up garage band blinded by Dutch pot smoke and without a 7-11 in sight).
     Now hold on tight as we take an alarmingly sudden left turn into ultra-pop confections like Cyan's smiley 'Toby's Shop' and Jack Grunsky's wonderful 'Sally McGregor', then up the hillside to heavy pop gems like Spectrum's classically-enhanced 'Music Soothes The Savage Breast' and Lally Stott's frantic 'Henry James' and back to earth with the heart-melting chorus of Nick Garrie's sublime French-only 45 'Close Your Eyes' and Kiss Inc's irresistible 'Kids Are Crying'. You still there?
     I'll leave you with the words of Top 100 Singers' closing track, "a splendid time is guaranteed / a splendid time is guaranteed for you and me tonight". Or, in the words of Jumbo's 'He Goes Blah Blah', "he goes blah, blah, he goes blah, blah / he goes blah, blah, he goes blah, blah / he goes blah, blah, he goes blah / he is making mummy mad".
     You decide.
www.heyday-mo.com/cgi/band.pl?X=VARIOUS%20ARTISTS
Andy Morten

VARIOUS ARTISTS New Directions Volume 3: Floor Filler Killers (Past & Present/Radioactive; CD)
     Now seemingly part of the Radioactive label, Past & Present have forgone the scattergun 30 tracks / 78 minute CD approach. This third volume in the new Directions series is an LP length 38 minutes with just fourteen tracks. However, compiled by Radioactive's J Romer, they make for perhaps the strongest volume in the series so far. This is also odd because a number of the groups featured do not at first sight look like they belong in a dancefloor collection at all; The End, The Moving Finger, Tangerine Peel, may initially be more familiar to popsike fans. However, despite a number of the tracks having been widely compiled elsewhere before, as a whole, this makes a great, groovy set. Evidently, less is more has become the approach as has a watchful eye on the popularity of Rob Bailey's New Untouchables club. This is a comp that wants to, and indeed succeeds in, snuggling up to Bailey's and Sanctuary's 'La Beat Bespoke' collection of last year.
     This is not quite so much the mid '60s mod soul collection of Volume 1 nor the rather wayward blue-eyed northern soul of vol.2, but rather a more Austin Powers-alike later 60s groove (see also the Stasera Shake Vol.2 review elsewhere). So the End track is 'Why?' from their slightly earlier soul pop phase, the Moving Finger's contribution is a ripping version of 'Shake and Finger Pop' and Tangerine Peel's is the groovacious 'Solid Gold Mountain Top'. The Kool's 'Step Out Of Your Mind' and Jerry Martin's 'I Can't Find Her' add to this same feel whilst Ian & The Zodiac's 'No Money, No Honey' and Guy Darrell's 'Evil Woman' have that freak beat edge to the groove that makes them more than the sum of their parts. In general, an intelligent compilation that hit's the spot. More like this please.
www.blueorchardrecords.com
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Stasera Shake! Volume 2 (Boss-A-Tone; CD)
     Unlike Volume 1, this new volume appears to be only available on CD although the track listing is given as two LP sides on the back, odd. Also, unlike Volume 1, this new volume moves forward in time and style away from the hot beat inspired shake numbers of the mid 60s to the more refined and lounge centred vibes of the later 60s and early 70s. The line up however is as quirky and interesting as the founding volume, full to the brim as it is, with Italian get-hip crooners and orchestral ye-ye players. Indeed, the kick-off track, Raffaella Carra's 'Presentazione Orchestra' (from the 1972 LP 'Senza Repiro') is a basic introduction to the orchestra (think the 'Blow Up' Club series). Award for most astounding / outstanding track has to go to the debut 45 by Richard Coccinate for his 'Rhythm' (on Delta) which was taken from the soundtrack to director Carlo Lozzano's 1971 film 'Roma Bene'. Kick-ass guitar playing in a rave-up sort of style define this number. Basically, throughout this set think the tougher end of the 'Instro Hipsters A Go-Go' series only with words! A great disc both for grooving to and for discovering more Italian hipster treasures.
Boss-A-Tone@iol.it
Paul Martin