THE BELFAST GYPSIES
Them Belfast Gypsies (Rev-Ola; CD)
     After a 1966 tour of the USA that turned on a million U.S. kids to garage rock, Them with Van "The Man" Morrison returned to Northern Ireland with empty pockets. Dejected by the lack of commercial success, the band split. Van went off to New York under the guidance of Bert Berns and the rest, as they say, is musical history. Jackie and Pat McAuley formed a new group together with Mike Scott and Ken McLeod. The new band, 2/5ths of the original Them, were not allowed to utilize the "Them" moniker, which remained with Alan Henderson, who immigrated to Texas and released four more albums (Rev-Ola have recently reissued the fabulous Now & Them and Time In! Time Out! For Them!) Of course that is another story you won't want to miss as well.
     The Belfast Gypsies, christened by legendary producer and raconteur Kim Fowley (Fowley seems to be linked to every band in the 1960's it would seem), remained more faithful to the original "Them" rough and tough Northern Ireland R&B sound. The first of two Island singles produced by Fowley: 'Gloria's Dream' b/w 'Secret Police' was a revisit of Them's classic garage rock anthem 'Gloria'. Although 'Gloria's Dream' is just as manic as the original, the b-side is far more interesting and menacing. The follow up single, 'People Let's Freak Out' b/w 'The Shadow Chasers' ('Secret Police revisited'), was billed not to The Belfast Gypsies (except in the US), but another typical Fowley moniker, The Freaks of Nature. These Freaks of Nature were The Gypsies, Fowley and legendary producer, Guy Stevens. The Rev-Ola CD covers all the bases on this remastered reissue with six bonus tracks including the famous French Vogue EP cuts and the mono 45 single mixes of the first Island single. Many fans will already be familiar with the French Vogue EP instrumental, 'The Gorilla', which is a romping good fuzz and organ driven number not to be missed, and has been compiled in lesser sound quality on many compilations. The band recycles Dylan's 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue', and manages to leave an indelible Belfast Gypsies imprint on the new recording.
     After the initial singles failed to light a fire, the band followed Fowley to Sweden where this album was recorded under Fowley and Ray Henderson. The Rev-Ola reissue marks the very first time this album, originally only released in Sweden in 1967, and reissued in 1977, has been legitimately and lovingly reissued on CD by Rev-Ola. The album was probably a bit out of step for the times in which is was released, but it has many highlights worthy of its inclusion in your collection. Sadly, the band fell apart shortly after this little gem was recorded. One wonder what might have been and if a more psychedelic sound was around the bend? 
     The Rev-Ola reissue has the trademark Rev-Ola first class remastering, packaging and liner notes. Jon 'Mojo' Mills (WHO be 'e den??? - Editor), who also has provided the liner notes to fabulous Now & Them and Time In! Time Out! For Them, conveys the entire legend along with an interview of Kim Fowley.
     Now if I could only find where Fowley dug up that groovy orange Batman shirt that made The Belfast Gypsies' cover one of the most easily recognizable records around. Turn it up loud and let your freak beat fly.
www.revola.co.uk
Mark A Johnston

THE BRUTHERS
Bad Way To Go (Sundazed; CD)
     Sometimes the full story is best left untold. Now that's not to say that teen brothers The Bruthers tale isn't worth telling… it is. It's a great tale about a group of R&R siblings whom through cute looks and all-out front won over crowds and even got to record a single for RCA (the garage-psych classic double header 'Bad Way To Go'/'Bad Love') before being dropped after refusing the label's suggestion of turning them in a Monkees-like band who wouldn't play on their records. Without a deal they still played some big profile gigs and even recorded a backing song for The Muppets on The Ed Sullivan Show! 
However, on this 11 track album The Bruthers are only The Bruthers we really hope for on said RCA single. A few other tracks aren' bad: the snotty 'The Courtship Of Rapunzel' (cut in June 1966) is a fairly decent semi rave-up garage punker, there's the prime off-kilter 'Walk Out In The Sun' (October '66) and earliest recording (from 1965) 'I'm Gonna Be Alone' is the most interesting of the newly unearthed material, with a spooky Del Shannon styled reverbed piano refrain and some cryptically placed guitar but 'Don't Forget To Cry' from October is only slightly interesting beat pop, and from here it gets pretty bad. A 1967 version of 'My Generation' is destroyed with some of the most comical bass playing ever recorded and 'Wake Me Shake Me' from the same time is completely inept. How come the band got worse with time? It's somewhat unusual.
     If expecting an album full of material that will rate alongside the sole single you'll be in for a big shock. However if interested in the different sides of a band that may have been BIG this is an interesting, if wholly uneven, anthology. 
www.sundazed.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

DICK CAMPBELL
Blue Winds Only Know (Rev-Ola; CD)
     Wow! Dick Campbell, one time Dylan-parody… business big-wig at Gary Usher's Together records, humorist and film-maker… but that's a different story for someone else to tell… and, the sole reason why I'm writing this review, a genius soft-pop songwriter/singer who cut a slew of gorgeous demos with the guy behind Lancelot Link And The Evolution Revolution (a SD feature beckons), Gary Usher and Key Pashine Golesorkhi in between writing hits for The Cowsills. And these delightful, harmony-based acoustic pieces have been left in the dark for way too long. Do you love Boettcher related projects? Well then, you'll adore this. Although only half-baked productions the crafted melodies and Campbell's sweet voice (which beats his Dylan impression) carry the tunes into heavenly realms. At that they stand up as a complete album. Rather than needing complex instrumentation the subtle mix of acoustic guitars, electric bass, piano and a luscious combination of voices are more than enough. 
     This beats 90% of the soft-pop big productions. Pure song craft! Perfect and simplistic (a little like me!)
www.revola.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

JOHN CARTER
Measure For Measure: The Anthology 1961-1977 (RPM; 2-CD)
     OK, forget your Ripples comps (blimey, that was quick!) and all those provincial supper club chancers whose half-baked back catalogues have been wrapped in floral slipcases under the pretence that they're worthy of our attention (hey, I thought we dug that stuff here at SD - Ed) and prepare yourself for the real McCoy.
     Very occasionally a CD comes along that raises your awareness of an artist to such a degree that you seriously wonder how you've managed to live without them for so long. Outside of being the brains behind The Ivy League and The Flowerpot Men and penning mega-hits such as The New Vaudeville Band's 'Winchester Cathedral', Manfred Mann's 'Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James' and Herman's Hermits' 'Can't You Hear My Heartbeat' and 'My Sentimental Friend' (often in tandem with that other chart magnet Geoff Stephens), I had no idea quite how prolific, successful and just plain fantastic John Carter's recording career was during the 60's and 70's.
     From the pre-Beatles Tin Pan Alley pop of Carter-Lewis & The Southerners right through to the sophisticated minor masterpieces of Starbreaker as late as 1977, Carter wrote, produced and sang literally dozens of impeccably crafted pop records under a bewildering variety of guises (Ministry Of Sound? Haystack??), churning out hit after hit while fashions came and went and lesser players struggled to follow-up lone moments of inspiration.
     He mangled the California cool and compositional savvy of Brian Wilson (a touchstone throughout Carter's entire career) into something defiantly English while avoiding the usual clichés that afflicted almost all of the beach-bound UK harmony pop acts. So high is the level of quality control he maintained through some of pop's most wayward eras that it's impossible to pinpoint the instant when this veritable one-man hit factory peaked or defined himself. Maybe it was in 1967 with The Ivy League's 'My World Fell Down' or The Flowerpot Men's 'Let's Go To San Francisco' (cast your judgments to one side for a moment and just listen to this track - it's a marvel of performance and production); how about Friends' haunting mellotron-soaked 1968 psychedelic opus 'Mythological Sunday'; would you prefer 'Say Goodbye To Yesterday' or any one of the many intricate mini-epics that make up the two unreleased Flowerpot Men albums from 1969/70; maybe it was in 1971 with Stormy Petrel's 'Hello Hello Hello', for me the most flawlessly constructed and immaculately produced moment here; it's probably First Class' transatlantic 1974 smash 'Beach Baby' which should bring a huge beaming grin to the face of pop's harshest critics; 'Letter To Josephine', 'Dreams Are Ten A Penny', 'You Can Never Be Wrong'. Virtually every one of these 55 cuts bristles with supreme confidence and an undeniable charm absent from so much pop music - you've just gotta hear them all! And wait until you get to the Jelly Tots and Dream Topping jingles at the end…
     A revelation.
http://www.cherryred.co.uk/rpm/
Andy Morten

LIZ DAMON'S ORIENT EXPRESS
Liz Damon's Orient Express (Rev-Ola; CD)
     Tough rockin' freaks leave now… and dare I say soft-pop purists, this may even be a bit too much saccharine cocktail juice for your chilled out palate. Liz Damon was a hugely successful lounge singer who was based in Hawaii in the early '70s. She released an album on White Whale and had a billboard hit with '1900 Yesterday'. Along with her competent backing band she specialised in safe-takes of classics and current hits. And it's all too sweet. Her voice isn't memorable and the purity and planned subtlety of The Beatles covers a disgrace… watered down takes of 'Danny Boy' and 'Close To You' add even less credence to the show. Things look up with 'You're Falling In Love', which wouldn't sound out of place at a northern soul night, and sees Liz going all Dionne Warwick… but other than that this is way TOO soft and drippy (even for me, Mike Stax.) But I suppose the kitsch loving LA nighteries and trendy Tokyo bars will lap this up… we sure are living in ironic times!
www.revola.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE DEAL
Goodbye September (Not Lame Archive Series; CD)
     Not Lame are quietly collecting together some impressive unreleased gems for their Archive series. The Deal were a power pop band from Charlottesville, Virginia, who "almost made it" in the '80s. Playing music with echoes of The Hollies and Big Star was deeply unfashionable at that time, but they were picked up by Albert Grossman's Bearsville label only to lose their big chance. Grossman died of a sudden heart attack whilst on a flight to Europe to market his label in general and The Deal in particular. Tragically, lead guitarist and key member Haines Fullerton eventually took his own life in the '90s.
     The Deal had a lot going for them, particularly Mark Roebuck's song writing ability and their vocal sound. The first two songs on this CD are forgettable Cars-like affairs, but the other eleven songs are strong and varied. The infectious 'Maybe I'll Just Keep You Hanging On' is sung almost as a vocal round. 'Marianne' reminds me of The Hollies' jangle. Some of the demos included, like 'Time Won't Come Back' and 'Lighting Candles In The Rain' are among the strongest cuts, because the melody and vocals are so clear, even though the band are all singing around one microphone. 
     In common with other '80s pop bands like The Shoes and The Connells, the harmony vocals have a gentle, fragile quality. They seem about to be swamped by the music, but never succumb. 
     Oddly for a band aiming to produce hits, many of the tunes are too long for radio play, clocking in at well over four minutes. This is often because guitarist Haines Fullerton liked to solo. His playing must have added a great deal to the band's live sound, but on record he could have been a little more economical.
     The songs have been compiled from sessions and demos over six years, but they are consistently strong. You can't keep a good tune down.
www.notlame.com
Phil Suggitt

THE FROST
The Best Of The Frost (Vanguard; CD)
     The vinyl release of this recently found 1969 live set of The Frost playing their home turf at Detroit's local Grande Ballroom came out on Akarma a few years back, now Ace have got the UK license and issued it on CD. Dick and crew storm through such gems as 'Sweet Lady Love', The Move-like 'Black Is Night' and '1500 Miles (Through The Eye of A Beatle)'. Heavy pop-rock at its finest - equal parts fiery guitar tone, sweet harmonies and rock vocals. Amazing!
www.acerecords.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

TIM HART & MADDY PRIOR
Heydays (Sanctuary; 2-CD)
     Prior to forming Steeleye Span with Ashley Hutchings, Tim Hart & Maddy Prior performed, and recorded two albums, as a duo (they also cut a third album, Summer Solstice, after Span's formation in 1971). Stemming from the St Albans' folk nucleus the duo took note of what Donovan and Mac Mcleod were doing, gaining an interest in American protest music before being steered towards Cecil Sharpe House in London's Camden Town and becoming dedicated followers of the British folk tradition. In 1968 and 1969 a collection of obscure pieces were recorded for two albums (Folk Songs of Olde England vols 1 & 2) for the tiny Tee Pee label. Both are sparse affairs that were recorded in the label owner's front room with Hart & Prior performing musical accompaniment live in one take. If interested in traditional British folk these will be of great interest. 
However, 1971's Summer Solstice (which was recorded at the same time as Steeleye Span's Pleased To See The King [reviewed later]) is a stronger album, mainly due to a far better production and a far more encompassing musical backing (provided by friends Andy Irvine [mandolin], John Ryan [string bass], Gerry Conway [percussion, bells], Pat Donaldson [electric bass] and Robert Kirby [string arrangement]). The repertoire and style of material chosen was no different than the previous releases, but the band format added so much more. Although essentially traditional folk the album has a haunting feel so typical of the acid folk movement, and at that, this should appeal to all enamoured by the wyrd early '70s era where The Wicker Man, Bagpuss, Fingerbobs and long hair and beards ruled supreme. 
     Summer Solstice is a beautiful album, essential now that it is available mid-price.
www.sanctuaryrecords.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

JADE
Fly On Strangewings (Lightning Tree; CD/LP)
     Marianne Segal and Dave Waite, like so many others, arose from the UK folk club circuit and soon caught onto the singer-songwriter breeze that had drifted over from California. Clearly inspired by Sandy Denny's new approach to English folk and the American sound the duo soon morphed into a band after meeting Rod Edwards (help for the sessions that make up the album came from Pete York [The Spencer Davis Group], Pete Sears [Les Fleur De Lys], Clem Cattini and Pentangle's Terry Cox amongst others). Fly On Strangewings was released in the UK on Pye and on Bell in the US in 1970, and it's about time that it received a thorough appraisal (Mojo started things rolling in 2001 - and now with this domestic release things really are about to take off.) It's not over the top to claim this as "a lost classic" that can be heralded along with Mellow Candles' Swaddling Songs, Trees' On The Shore and Sandy Denny's solo albums. Segal possessed a strong voice with a similar depth and emotion to Denny whilst Dave Waite's soothing folkish baritone bounced off her wonderfully in duets; the slightly psychedelic Californian harmonies and accomplished playing, which features orchestration, acoustic interplay, the essential harpshichord and some mid-tempo rock action also add much substance to the superb and varied quality of songs. From start to finish this is faultless.
     If only buying one UK folk rock album this year, this is the one to get.
http://www.mariannesegal-jade.com/
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

KALEIDOSCOPE
Please Listen To The Pictures: The BBC Sessions (Circle Records; CD /Double LP)
     Most of these recordings have seen the light of day in the form of a CD bootleg some time back, but I'll wager there are more people who want to hear them than actually have already. Therefore, this beautifully presented set is a most welcome addition to the much revered and loved Kaleidoscope / Fairfield Parlour canon. As with all the Circle releases, the packaging and presentation is sumptuous. If you have a record deck, plump for the vinyl edition, I do every time. The double LP comes in a heavy duty gatefold sleeve. The Kaleidoscope LP has a faux Fontana label and the Fairfield Parlour LP has a faux Vertigo label. The liners by Peter Daltry in the gatefold itself tell of the dilemma of being a progressive band in a regressive recording environment (with the indifference of the BBC's white coated clock-watching engineers). The four page LP sized booklet features a raft of memorabilia in colour and b/w and further liner notes by Nigel Lees on the intriguing life expectancy of BBC transcription records and master tapes! 
     So how groovy are the grooves then? It should be said straight off, as do Circle themselves, that there are four off-air cuts from a manky old reel-to-reel-tape, the only remaining extant recordings from two Kaleidoscope sessions. The first features 'Faintly Blowing' and '(Further Reflections) In The Room of Percussion' from a Tommy Vance hosted Top Gear session. These are actually pretty reasonable sound wise. Once the ears adjust, they are strangely compelling. Indeed 'Faintly Blowing' sounds like it has some interesting extemporisation going on which makes it worthwhile in itself. The second two off-air numbers, 'Do It Again For Jeffrey' and '(Love Song) For Annie' come from Radio 1 Club session and are pretty rough in sound quality, but nonetheless we're not exactly awash with Kaleidoscope sessions (see why in the liners! - there were plenty more at one time), so even a rough old tape has an aesthetic value.
     That said, the rest of the album's 22 tracks are in excellent sound quality and all feature the introductions of Brian Matthews whose perky, effervescent style never really changed even though the music and the times did. Matthews' continuity links indeed must amount to more than the sum total of some acts recorded musical output on reissue discs these days given the number of Saturday Club etc. sessions that have found their way onto reissues in recent years! Indeed, just listening to the brief interview he conducts with Kaleidoscope at the beginning of the set shows just how mannered and polite not to mention self-effacing some of these acts were (think Zombies, Eclection etc) in conversation, so unlike the "Yeah of course I'm brilliant, tell me something I don't know already" attitude of many of today's popsters (and that's my pitch for a grumpy old man interview!). 
     As for the rest of the music, the Kaleidoscope tracks on side 1 especially, throw the sound images of the released versions into relief. It is great to hear songs like 'Flight From Ashiya', 'The Murder of Lewis Trollani', 'A Dream For Julie' and 'Dive Into Yesterday' in the raw. The songs are so strong that even without the dreamlike embellishments of the studio, these songs stand up as masterpieces now as much as they did nearly 40 years ago. 'Snapdragon' is especially excellent. Daltry tells of the widespread practice of taking in pre-recorded backing tapes to the BBC studios to record against as it saved time and made the engineers happy! Both 'Snapdragon' and the studio version (as opposed to the off-air version) of 'Do It Again For Jeffrey' would appear to be of this ilk, featuring as they do brass sections, pianos etc. 
     The Fairfield Parlour numbers sound more produced (but it was 1970-71 by then) But it's very cool to hear the prominence of the sitar for instance on 'Bordeaux Rose' or the chorused guitar on the first version (of two) of 'Free'. 'Long Way Down, 'Diary Song' or 'Matchseller' are excellent renditions and enjoyable to the utmost, you'll be rooting out your White-Faced Lady and From Home To Home CDs to compare them with. Overall this is another quality package from Circle and I can't think how the justice done to most of the songs here could be bettered. Fans will love this set, it's a real treat for the eyes and ears, rough old tapes and all! 
www.circlerecords.co.uk 
speed@circlerecords.co.uk
Paul Martin

ACE KEFFORD
Ace The Face (Sanctuary; CD)
     Christopher 'Ace' Kefford's tragic decline from The Move's lean, mean, skeletal bass player to nervous wreck and virtual recluse has been well documented (see SD #5 for the definitive Move story). After penning 'William Chalker's Time Machine' for Brum pals The Lemon Tree and cutting two 45s with The Ace Kefford Stand and Big Bertha in 1969 (all included here), Ace's output ground to a sudden and premature halt as the demons that would haunt him for the next 30 years took hold.
     So it was with great excitement that we received news that a series of lost recordings cut immediately following Ace's departure from The Move in mid-1968 had recently been discovered and was being prepared for release. Wisely eschewing any notions of updating these tapes in favour of a "warts and all" approach, Sanctuary Records with hands-on assistance from the man himself, have issued these historic recordings along with every other Ace-related single, demo and out-take they could find from the era as well as the 1976 Ace-penned single by Rockstar. 
     The 1969 Stand/Bertha cuts are prime examples of late 60's UK freak rock as anyone who's heard the monumental version of The Yardbirds' 'For Your Love' or it's heavy as hell b-side 'Gravy Booby Jamm' will testify. Appearing here for the first time are the Stand's versions of Steppenwolf's 'Born To Be Wild' (complete with lyrical fluffs) and, bizarrely, freakbeat fave 'Daughter Of The Sun' which gives the more familiar Sharon Tandy/Fleur De Lys version a sound thrashing.
     The "lost album" material is a different kettle of fish. Ace's frail condition at the time dictated that he be wheeled into the studio to add his voice to pre-recorded backing tracks. Given this rather non-interactive set-up he did rather well - his Winwood-esque pipes are in fine form throughout - it's the material that lets proceedings down. Ace's own compositions such as 'Step Out In The Night', 'Holiday In Reality' and 'Infanta Marina' (which features some curious vocal athletics from Ace) are largely insipid and uninspired, sounding like throwaway throwbacks to the early 60's. While his colleagues in The Move continued to successfully hone their Duane Eddy/Eddie Cochran fantasies into a bold trademark sound, Ace's twist on his beloved Everlys/Buddy Holly influences falls flat on it's face. One would imagine that his self-proclaimed love of Sam Cooke and Curtis Mayfield would have led him to follow the soul/pop path hinted at on opener 'Oh Girl'. In this climate, the version of Paul Simon's 'Save The Life Of My Child' (producer Tony Visconti's idea) sounds positively radiant.
     Had Ace waited until he'd re-gained his confidence and broken in enough material of the caliber of the '69 Stand cuts, he not only might have completed the album but he might have recorded the one we, and his fans then, would have expected from such a talent.
     Shame about the rather dull sleeve design too.
     One for the completists and the curious only.
www.sanctuaryrecords.co.uk
Andy Morten

OCTOBER COUNTRY
October Country (Rev-ola; CD)
     October Country is probably better known as a song than as a band - a diamond in the baroque-pop canon, being recorded by The Smoke, The Raw Edge and the titular combo here and earning it's reputation as the West Coast's answer to virtually anything by the routinely deified Left Banke.
     Not surprisingly the song's writer, the mercurial Michael Lloyd, is behind this 1968 one-off. Contrary to popular belief, October Country weren't a studio-only project but a bona fide band that Lloyd took under his wing and provided with a set of songs. And produced. And played most of the instruments. And arranged the strings and brass. Oh hell, you get the idea.
     'October Country' opens this, the first ever official re-issue of the album, and while it's undoubtedly more heavy-handed than The Smoke's earlier version, none of the song's charm is lost. 'Cowboys And Indians' is an indentikit take on another Smoke favourite while 'Good To Be Around' and 'Carlye's Theme' are cut from the same cloth as most of that classic album (see August 2003 Reviews).
     Elsewhere, 'I Wish I Was A Fire' is the kind of loveable pure pop candyfloss that Lloyd's mentor Mike Curb was peddling with his Congregation around this time and, at the other end of the spectrum, 'My Girlfriend Is A Witch' is a full-on garage/bubblegum hybrid which manages to simultaneously recall both The Music Machine's 'Talk Talk' and The Millennium's 'The Know It All'. No mean feat!
     An extensive interview with Mr Lloyd and many previously unseen photos of the group add to making this one of Rev-ola's most satisfying releases so far and an essential purchase for fans of sun-kissed lysergic Californian 60's pop!
www.revola.co.uk
Andy Morten

THE PRISONERS
The Last Fourfathers (Big Beat; CD)
     The Prisoners in 1985 were a turning point for the 14 year old me. Seeing the band live at The Riverside, Southampton was one of the most exciting musical experiences I have ever had! My three scrawny young mod mates and I stood at the front for the duration of the set, captivated by an angry Graham Day, whom looked the epitome of cool armed with Epiphone guitar and dressed in white jeans and black roll neck with psychedelic ankh talisman flailing around his neck! His voice was also brain meltingly good! That night I got turned onto garage and freakbeat... and what an introduction! In hearing material from their forthcoming The Last Fourfathers album performed live we had found our new favourite band... Flash forward 18 years and this album still sounds as good as the day I bought it. Big Beat's new CD version includes eight bonus tracks (home demos and live cuts) which're all worth playing, but it's the original 12 track album that you'll want to come back to again and again and again.
     Although clearly possessing the tempered Medway streak, Day had a different musical dimension to his peers. If Billy Childish and co were still thriving upon Kinks-beat, R&B and punk (although it must be noted that Childish co-wrote album opener 'Nobody Wants Your Love') The Prisoners had progressed beyond measure. 'Thinking Of You (Broken Pieces)', the first melodic vocal number of the album, single 'Whenever I'm Gone' and 'Who's Sorry Now' are perfectly constructed mod-pop tunes that should have graced the charts. After starting out as a genuine teen garage punker before briefly morphing into a psychedelic mystic, Day had become well versed in song writing by the time he composed The Last Fourfathers, making great use of all the techniques he'd learnt along the way. A simple but effective use of vocal harmonies, the use of crashing Marriott-esque power chords to add body to his irresistible melodies and the good old "verse-chorus-verse-chorus-middle-eight-end" song structure - a basic formula which worked for Day just as it had for his songwriting heroes before him. But like his Medway buddies our mod saviour could get spiteful, and was in no way (as his later career proved) intent on courting glossed over pop stardom. 'Take You For A Ride', 'The Drowning' and 'I Drink The Ocean' are nascent rockers, with more bile than any of today's co called punk rock. But most importantly they have melody, power and anger in equal measures. 
     The Last Four Fathers is without doubt The Prisoners' crowning glory. It is also unquestionably one of the most overlooked albums in the history of rock! I mean it! AMAZING!!!!!
www.acerecords.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

Postscript:      Many of our finest scribes here at Shindig! Towers were trampled in the rush to review this album, testament indeed to it's seminal status among those of us of a certain age and disposition. In the end we were forced to bow down to our beloved leader who withered us all into submission with that funny look he does.
     I was an anonymous 16-year-old mod kid when I bought The Last Fourfathers in the summer of 1985. It was from the Merc (mod mecca and emporium) just off Carnaby Street and the album had literally arrived in the shop that morning - they were still pricing them up. I guess I hadn't spent all my pocket money yet so I picked up a copy. £3.99 I think it cost. I loved it and never looked back.
     I too saw The Prisoners live for the first time in their mid-1985 heyday (this is spookily similar to Mojo's recollections above though our paths wouldn't cross for another six or seven years) at the 100 Club in Oxford Street. They were still playing most of Fourfathers as well as stuff that would end up on In From The Cold the following year. To see them on stage at their flamboyant best, kicking the shit out of 'Whenever I'm Gone', 'I Am The Fisherman', 'I Drink The Ocean' and 'Who's Sorry Now' and scaring the shit out of half the audience was a crucial turning point for me. 
     They were our Small Faces and we doted on them. My fate was sealed that night. Those bastards are to blame for everything I've done since. I even started on the Guinness as soon as I saw Day drinking it. Look at my stomach now!
     The Prisoners never captured their raw passion and confrontational beauty on record but Fourfathers occasionally comes close. It contains most of their best songs and is shot through with the kind of cockiness and wry humour you only achieve when you're playing at the top of your game.
     Fucking great.
Andy Morten

RAIK'S PROGRESS
Sewer Rat Love Chant (Sundazed; CD)
     Without going into the history (which you can read in the liners) Raik's Progress were another one-shot garage band from the dawning of the psychedelic era. Their sole 45 'Sewer Love Rat' / 'Why Did You Rob Us, Tank' released on Liberty at the tale end of 1966, was a double dose of haunting middle-eastern tinged folk-rock, quite ahead of it's time. For me, 'Sewer Rat Love Chant' has the same spooky, trippy quality as UK psych act Tintern Abbey's 'Vacum Cleaner'. Now there's a first! 'Why Did You Rob Us, Tank?' (cryptic title award) is a far more poppish effort, with a sweet multi vocal, chiming guitars and snaking farfisa. The ending is eaten up with a spectral eastern guitar coda! Both cuts aren't short of astounding! As the band only cut the one single the rest of the CD consists of live recordings which were caught on tape with decent fidelity at The Rainbow Ballroom, Fresno. What might well have been disappointing is quite the contrary. 'F In A' kicks the set off, out-monking -The-Monks with a bone crunching rave-up section before the guys rumble through a collection of choice covers from The Byrds, The Animals and Them, and further originals that should have been ripe for release: the swift change of direction from eventide jangling of 'All Night Long' into psych-punk is stunning and the fuzztone Animal-like pounder 'Prisoner Of Chillon' is a dynamic soulful garager. 
     Raik's Progress: a truly stunning band that has at last gained the kudos they deserve. Here's to Sewer Rat Love Chant and to Sundazed for bringing it to us.
www.sundazed.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

SMALL HOURS
The Anthology (Detour; CD)
     Discovered by Desmond Dekker of 'The Israelites' fame, Small Hours were a late '70s band from London who became a big part of the mod scene at venues like The Marquee and The Music Machine. The Anthology collects every track known to exist by the band (as is typical of Detour Records CDs; label head Dizzy is very diligent), including that which was previously released, demos, and several live tracks, all of which show Small Hours to be both capable and versatile. Lead vocalist Neil Thompson sounds like a less over-the-top Geno Washington, and this serves the band well on northern soul ravers like 'Can't Do Without You," (a planned 7" that was never released; too bad-it could have been a huge hit) "Midnight To Six' and 'Underground', while 'The Kid' will please fans of early Dexy's and Makin' Time. Most of the demos, which were recorded after the previous tracks, show a move towards Costello/Attractions styled new wave, and the keyboards of Carol Isaacs and Armand Thompson certainly add moxy to tunes like 'Watch The Space', 'Business In Town' and 'Seen It All Before'. The live tracks, all recorded at The Hope & Anchor, are solid, and these include cool covers of 'But It's Alright', 'Mercy, Mercy' and 'Sweet Soul Music'.
     I'm constantly amazed at how Detour Records continually uncovers and unearths these mod gems. Keep 'em coming, Dizzy!
www.detour-records.co.uk
David Bash

THE SMITHEREENS
Green Thoughts (Lemon; CD)
     At the time this sounded like a pretty decent album. Of course, it wasn't The Prisoners, whom my group of pals and I loved the most, but we did spin Especially For You and Green Thoughts by The Smithereens too as they had a strong dose of '60s melodies that fitted our post-mod agenda! However in retrospect the crisp over-produced engineering really dates Green Thoughts to 1988. Even if a number of songs are relatively inspiring, the overly loud snare drum and clinical guitars detract greatly. What once seemed pretty good now sounds distinctly barren when compared to the decent modern productions heard from Jet and The Coral. File with The Hoodoo Gurus' Magnum Cum Louder and other period pieces that have well and truly lost their charm.
www.lemonrecordings.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE SONICS
Psycho-Sonic (Big Beat; CD)
     Many readers will recall the spin around the introduction of CDs back in the early 1980s. It was just like having the group in your front room the sound is so good we were told. Well, however much hyperbole this amounted to, all the boffins had to do to find a genuine example of such an effect was to root out the Sonics first generation masters, as at times these really do sound like they're in your front room, and as long ago as 1965!
     Big Beat originally put this definitive Sonics collection out years ago, but the recent discovery of the original first generation masters the band actually recorded onto gives the whole repertoire a new, ahem, 'sonic' dimension. Some time back I reviewed Big Beat's 'Etiquette Required' north-west stomp comp here, on which they test ran a couple of these tracks. I raved about them then and I'm still raving about them now (so lock me up already!). Many of the tracks are for the first time presented in true stereo remixes and the difference in sound is palpable on speaker shredding monsters like 'Cinderella' and He's Waiting' and thee (definiative) 'Louie Louie'.
     The songs themselves will be familiar fair to those who have done only slightly more than scratch the surface of 60s garage bands. The sequencing has been changed (i.e.much improved) and there's in depth interviews with band members in the liner notes (some cribbed from Norton's 'Savage Young Sonics' LP which charts the bands earliest home demo recordings) which update the whole Sonics story. In an age where you can buy the same album in both stereo and mono on the one CD for the sake (I think anyway) of just filling the disc up without there being any real significant difference in sound, this revamped Sonics set, really does mean you need both versions. Excellent throughout and like hearing it all for the first time again, how many albums can you say that of these days?
www.acerecords.co.uk
Paul Martin

STEELEYE SPAN
The Lark In The Morning: The Early Years (Sanctuary; CD)
     Splitting from Fairport Convention in 1969 after the release of Liege & Lief bassist Ashley Hutchings hooks up with Tim Hart, Maddy Prior and Gay and Terry Woods and forms the archetypal (and the best) Steeleye Span line-up. This congregation recorded three albums across 1970-1971 for Chrysalis (Hark! The Village Wait, Please To See The King and Ten Man Mop or Mr Reservoir Rides Again) and in doing so made a big impression on the UK folk-rock map. Gone were the days of the Fairports aping the US West Coast and trad folk being the sole possession of wooly jumper wearing folk club singers (which the Fairports themselves had proved with the turning point album Liege & Lief) and in came an updated electric take on the British folk song. The first three Span albums - which admittedly you'll either love or hate - take off from where the Fairports started. The songs (a mix of original and traditional pieces) convey the dampness of desolate moors, tumbled down cottages in rustic villages and broken hearts with the perfect blend of wide-eyed hippy mysticism and post-psychedelic electric and exotic instrumentation. 
www.sanctuaryrecords.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE STILLROVEN
Too Many Spaces (Sundazed; CD)
     Cast Thy Burden Upon (Sundazed's trawl through The Stillroven's garage and psych years) won the SD-thumbs-up-award a few years back. Not so hot on it's heels, but nevertheless appreciated, is Too Many Spaces, a compilation of the band's final recordings, cut between 1968 and 1969.The fourteen tracks are typical of the post-psychedelic attitude. A slower, heavier riffed approach with a far less anguished vocal (which bares a deeper, soulful, country-tinged manner of singing and inflection) mark the songs, as does the influence of soul music and the late '60s UK rock scene (Cream, Hendrix, Traffic) alongside a subtle flirtation with US soft/jazzy material. Yet, the Stillroven still possessed a raw, emotive style that attest their garage roots; noticeably the hands-on rhythm section and barely contained energy. A version of 'Get Ready' is particularly impressive. (Not only did the venerable Michael Lloyd produce the song, but the WCPAEB's Shaun Harris also acted as the band's manager at this time). If The Stillroven had soldiered on for a little longer it is quite likely they would have continued in a country-rock vein, as indicated by the imaginatively titled 'Country Tune'-which bares strong similarities with Marriott's work in Humble Pie.
     If the bluesier, more soul inflected, hippy-come-down sounds appeal this is certainly worth investigating. Funky rockers like the wonderful 'Lighten Up' just go to show what ex-garage teens who had learnt their instruments were getting up to at the end of the decade!!!! 
www.sundazed.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

TRISTE JANERO
Meet Triste Janero (Rev-Ola; CD)
     After the Liz Damon mistake Rev-Ola return to their usually interesting selves with this first time re-issue of a 1968 obscure soft/pop/bossa album by Texan Sergio Mendes fans Triste Janero. Reminding me somewhat of the wonderful Wendy & Bonnie album the girl fronted sextet play with jazzy Brazilian influences in quite their own way. It's neither MOR or psychedelia, more like somewhere in between. The Lovin' Spoonful's 'You Didn't Have To Be So Nice' is transformed into something not unlike Love's 'Orange Skies' and 'Get Together' blends brazilica with psychedelia. All in all this is highly competent stuff with a twist. The perfect summery remedy for the winter blues.
www.revola.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Fading Yellow Volume 6 (Flower Machine; CD)
     Another brace of soft pop/sike silver platters in this growing series has now arrived. Vol.6 is comprised of North American (i.e. US and Canadian) obscure 45s and as you might hope or expect (by now) there's a lot of cool listening to be had here. I'd only encountered four of the 25 tracks here before and the majority are nice surprises. The pop-sikiest numbers include Bill Soden's sitar inflected 'My Mermaid And Me', all echoey and orchestrated; Billy Elder's cool strange-thinged, Rubble friendly 'Don't Take The Night Away', The Whether Bureau's 'Why Can't You And I' with its electric guitar played like a sitar. (and which has definite shades of Del Shannon's 'I Think I Love You' from his 'The Further Adventures Of Charles Westover' LP) and the wonderfully English sounding whimsy of Geoffrey Stevens' 'Grape Jelly Love'. Other delights come in the form of the husky voiced Lynn Castle's 'Rose Colored Corner', with shimmering guitar courtesy of backing group Last Friday's Fire. The singer-songwriterisms of Hank Shifter's 'Saturday Noontime', a good orchestrated pop mover and Bob Dileo's 'Band In Boston' which demonstrates the application of psychedelic aesthetics to commercial lightweight-pop very well. Fargo's non-LP 45 'Sunny Blue Day' is every bit as good as their album (this is a non-album 45 side).
     Tunesmithery is also evident in The Rainy Daze's 'Fe Fi Fo Fum' which sneaks in a little backward guitar styling at the end and Ted Munda's Friends Of The Family's 'Can't Go Home', a good west coast sounding mover. The Don Meehan Project's 'My Silent Symphony' is a cool strident soft poper (if that's not a contradiction in terms!) and even precocious pre-teen Mark Radice scores where his previous two efforts did not (for me) with 'Three Cheers (for The Sad Man)'. If you're a committed FY fan, especially if you dig the previous North American Volumes 2 & 3 to which this is really a companion volume, then you won't be disappointed by anything on here. 
     The usual brisk and useful liner notes are accompanied by some colour label shots and b/w group shots and the cover art is as always excellent. A great package indeed and to my ears, the standard hasn't dropped at all as the series grows, which is always a difficult maintenance job to carry out. Great stuff!
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Fading Yellow Volume 7 (Flower Machine; CD)
     A palpable sense of excitement seems to greet the release of each new installment of the Fading Yellow series these days and I for one am as eager as anyone to see which gems have this time been painstakingly mined from obscurity for our delectation.
     The "soft" debate may rage on in less enlightened enclaves of the "60s collectors scene" but one cannot deny the effect the FYs have had in opening our eyes to a neglected wonderland of sounds from the era we love and beyond. 
You should know the drill by now and there are few surprises here. Taking its content from American and Canadian albums rather than singles (see vol 6 for a superb selection of 45s) released between 1968 and 1972, this collection demands a little more attention from the listener before the penny drops.
     I personally found the earlier US volumes rather disappointing after the revelation that was the first UK/Euro volume but thankfully the balance has been restored by these latest titles.
     It's hardly worth trying to isolate any highlights; such is the consistent quality of material on offer and the overriding sense that, despite being comps, each FY could hang together as a work by a stand-alone artist. Just for the record (and cos I want him to - Ed), I'll single out the sprightly folk-rocker 'I Don't Wanna Drive You Away' by SD #6 stars 3's A Crowd, 'Gold Is The Color Of Thought' by kings of baroque The Smoke, The National Gallery's 'Diana In The Autumn Wind' and Fargo's 'The Talks We Used To Have', the simple but poignant lyrics of which leave me stunned every time I hear it.
     Those doubting Thomases who still misguidedly expect to hear full-blown psychedelia (or "sike" - it matters not) on these collections (we've kinda established that's not the point, OK?) should wrap their lug'oles round Glitterhouse's 'Tinkerbell's Mind', Michael Twice's 'If I Knew You Were The One', Condello's 'The Other Side Of You' or Summerhill's truly mind-bending 'Friday Morning's Paper', all of which display a depth of lysergic knowing and aural trickery hitherto untapped on previous FYs.
     Another resounding success. Volumes 8 and 9 are already in the can.
     The flower machine turns you on.
Andy Morten

VARIOUS ARTISTS
New Directions: A Collection of Blue-Eyed British Soul 1964-1969 (Past & Present; CD)
     This collection stands along side Sanctuary's Doin' The Mod series, notably Vols. 1 & 5 and most recently, RPM's 'Let's Cop A Groove' (see last months soul reviews) as an overt focus on the blue-eyed UK soul scene. Like most of Past & Present's compilations, there's a D.I.Y feel to it. Clearly the music is dubbed directly from vinyl without (seemingly) any attempt at remastering. Having said that what you get as with most of their UK initiatives (other than the We Can Fly series arguably) is a rollicking good collection of unreissued and hopelessly obscure 45s and at mid-price too, so I'm not complaining! 
     The collection amply demonstrates what happens when white beat meets black style and urgency. Some white kids tried to raise the cultural ante in the early 60s by rejecting the white rock 'n' roll copyists and emulating the original black R&B styles; accordingly, when soul displaced r&b as the black teen music of choice by the mid 60s, so white kids followed suit. What you have here is the musical milieu from out of which emerged such holy names as The Action. The bulk of these sides date from '66-'69 and so in many cases sport a more fully developed and less mannered and self-conscious style such as the soul-rock melding of Chicago Transit Authority's 'I'm A Man', here rendered by the Ray King Soul Band. 
     But overwhelmingly what's on show is the white attempt to emulate black American heroes, used as a stopgap between Motown and Stax revue tours of Europe. We have for instance Ray Docker & Music Through Six's 'Mellow Moonlight' which is only a funky footstep away from 'In The Midnight Hour' with it's jerk and twine off the beat style. Similarly Jeff Elroy & The Boys Blue's 'Honey Machine' seeks to evoke that essential 60s Memphis groove, and The Reaction's 'That Man' is nothing less than a stylistic homage to Percy Sledge-a-like southern soul balladry. Josh Hanna sounds like he wants to be Joe South with his 'Shut Your Mouth', but Sharon Tandy (will someone get an anthology together on her 60s sides, pllleeeaase!!) {Editor: It's on the way Paul on Ace} sounds like she's veering into freakbeat territory with the excellent 'Look And Find'. At the affordable price that this is and the obscurity of most of these tracks plus their sheer dancability, there's no excuse whatsoever not to own it, so off you go now and buy it. It's essential!
www.megaworld.co.uk
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
94 Baker Street: Pop-Psych Sounds From The Apple Era 1967-79 (RPM; CD)
     Wow, this was an inspired idea! Apple will be forever remembered as The Beatles' record label despite being the brand name behind several other brave yet ill-fated business ventures and fab follies. Magic Alex springs to mind! Yet it began life as a publishing house for new sounds in 1967 and it's those early psych-tinged recordings that take centre stage on this juicy little comp. 
     Familiar titles like Grapefruit's 'Dear Delilah' and The Misunderstood's 'Children Of The Sun' nestle amongst a dozen or so previously unreleased and alternate versions. Of these, the stripped down demo of Grapefruit's 'Lullaby' is much more effective than the Around Grapefruit version, Focal Point's dreamy atonal (and very Liverpudlian) demos instantly propel them into the Brit psych major league, The Iveys' surprisingly fiery tunes (particularly 'Tube Train' which could hold it's own next to similarly urgent cuts by pop-art gods The Creation or The Game) wipe the floor with their usual bubblegum 'n' ballads approach, The Ways And Means' pre-Grapefruit George Alexander-penned 'Breaking Up A Dream' remains a high watermark in psych-era beat singles and Paintbox (another, slightly less remarkable Alexander/Easybeats-related one-off from 1972) is kinda fun and screws up the '1967-69' tag of the album's title nicely.
     Stefan Granados, author of Those Were The Days: An Unofficial History Of The Beatles' Apple Organisation 1967-2002, contributes illuminating liner notes and there are plenty of rare photos. The omission of better-known Apple psych cuts such as Fire's 'Father's Name Is Dad', The Sands' 'Listen To The Sky' and Paul Jones' 'The Dog Presides' suggests a second volume is likely. Let's hope so.
http://www.cherryred.co.uk/rpm/
Andy Morten

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Piccadilly Sunshine Part 1: UK Pop-Sike & Other Flavours 1965-1970 (Desiree; CD)
     As if the micro-world of sixties pop and popsike collecting isn't spoiled enough already with the plethora of comps in recent months (watch out for Soft Sounds For Gentle People Volume 2 soon by the way), here's another new series (Volumes 3 and 4 I'm told are already in production). It would seem that they have been issued, at least initially, in a very limited run. Whether more might be forthcoming is unknown, but as it exists (just!) we'll review it. In content both volumes would sit well alongside the Pop In, Colour Me Pop and Spinning Wheel series of CDs. Whilst Volume 2 is perhaps more consistent (see Andy Morten's review below) with perhaps the exception of the rather odd Ottillie Patterson's 'Spring Song', but Volume1 has plenty to recommend it. Both volumes sport 25 tracks and have some concise and to the point liner notes. 
     The only real duffer here is Jawbone's 'Haw's Ya Pa' which is just too Chas & Dave (hokie) to be heard as whimsical. A few of the tracks have seen vinyl outings on comps such as 'Papermen Fly In The Sky' and 'We're Not What We Appear To Be', but the bulk are (as far as I can tell) previously unreissued. Volume 1 is comprised largely of mod-pop belters and the stylistic twilight where the later mod sounds 'went hippy overnight' as the liners have it. An excellent example of this being Mood Of Hamilton's 'Why Can't There Be More Love'. Clearly a club soul band a la Simon Dupree & The Big Sound, the backing vocals have been shoved up an octave and the punchy Hammond keys have become melancholy and plaintive with an altogether more sombre atmosphere presiding than would be normal for such a unit. As such it is historically fascinating (and enjoyable!) to hear. Then there's Mixture's 'Never Trust In Tomorrow' which is a basically straight ahead bright-eyed and bushy-tailed pop song of the time but with some tangy fraying around the edges. There's faded baroque pop in Jason James's 'Miss Pilkington's Maid' and Ronnie Burns's 'Piccadilly Pages' and the orchestrated pop continues with Tim Andrews's 'Sad Simon Lives Again' which catches a kind of period zeitgeist vibe. The Symbols, a harmony pop group with a style normally veering towards the sugary (but there are a number of exceptions, see their two cuts on 10th Planet's 'Electric Lemonade Acid Test Vol.1' LP comp for instance), produce the goods with their excellent 'Schoolgirl', the flip to their last President label 45 and previously only available as a bonus cut on the expensive Japanese import CD reissue of their lone President album.
     Mashmakhan's 'Dance A Little Step' may have a title inspiring anxiety about proto-progisms featuring elves and fairies, but is actually one of the coolest tracks on the disc, a great eastern flavoured organ led pop groover with a vocally commercial edge, but an underground leaning lead guitar break! The Magicians render 'Slow Motion' (more familiar to readers perhaps as The Sweet's first 45) by introducing it (briefly) with a 'cool jerk' riff for some reason and Sounds Incorporated 'Dead As A Go-Go' is lyrically Kinksish (think 'Lazy Sunday Afternoon') but musically rather hard to describe, off-kilter pop with a tinkly chorus perhaps? Good anyway. Overall an enjoyable and unusual collection with the emphasis firmly on pop.
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Piccadilly Sunshine Part Two: UK Pop-Sike & Other Flavours 1965-1970 (Desiree; CD)
     Hmmm… curiouser and curiouser. This is a mixed bag of predominantly British pop singles from 1965 to 1970 which takes it's cue from the Colour Me Pop/Pop-In/Spinning Wheel school of DIY compilations with a nod to Fading Yellow in it's "UK pop-sike and other flavours" tag.
     Content-wise it's closest to Colour Me Pop by virtue of the number of "kids in the sweetshop" style bubble-pop tunes and brassy post-mod soul-influenced sounds on offer. There are touches of psychedelia (or at the very least, just plain strangeness) on Barbara Ruskin's much-overlooked weird-out 'Pawnbroker, Pawnbroker', K G Young's sinister 'Spider' and Bubblegum's take on The Easybeats' loony tune 'Little Red Bucket' with some interesting soft pop moments from George Bean (both sides of his exquisite 'The Candy Shop Is Closed' 45), Ottilie Patterson and Peter & Gordon.
     Credit is due to the compilers who've served up around 50 unfamiliar single sides by some bewilderingly obscure acts (no mean feat in this day and age) but overall the collection lacks the purpose of a Pop-In, the beauty of a Fading Yellow or the eclecticism of a Spinning Wheel. With three more volumes already in production I can only hope that a little more fine-tuning is exercised in the future.
     This is a limited edition release that apparently has already sold out! Contact us here at Shindig! if you're desperate for a copy.
Andy Morten