SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing Too Far Out – Joe Meek’s Tea Chest Tapes. Beat, Mod & R&B from 304 Holloway Road 1963-1966, Various Artists 3CD Box Set

Once in a while over the last 10 years of Smart Sounds reviews a release comes to me because I have requested it from Cherry Red Records because I believe it to be an important one, however due to the period of the material covered I don’t feel qualified to write a knowledgeable review of the work in my usual fashion. Such is the case with today’s new 3CD set. In 2020 Cherry Red acquired ‘The Tea Chest Tapes’ 1000’s of recordings that Joe Meek left behind after his untimely death in February 1967. These recordings are a treasure trove of un-released, early recordings, demo’s etc of artistes some of whom such as David Bowie, Billy Fury, Tom Jones, Gene Vincent & many more would later go on to international fame. Since Cherry Red acquired this incredibly important collection of some 4000 hours of music spread over close to 2000 tapes they have set about digitising them & releasing these wonderful box sets split into various categories over the last 5 years. This latest 3CD Box set covers the period 1963-1966 & boasts 88 tracks of Beat Mod & R & B tracks produced by Joe in his inimitable style. To return to my aforementioned statement, regarding not feeling qualified to write a knowledgeable full on review of all this work, this is because I did not arrive in the business until 1967 & from that point on I think i can say without being egotistical I can write about music from my own experience of the bands/artistes that I encountered & often worked with from that point in time on. 1963-66 is a period of time that is important as aforementioned as it chronicles the birth of beat music here in the UK, but for me falls out of my reach for being that tad too early for me to be taking notice. And the last thing I want to do is write a ‘review’ for the many 1000’s of Joe Meek admirers from a point of largely ignorance. Thus, please look on this as less a ‘review’ but more a big heads up to all those aforementioned Joe Meek fans that love his work & are so much steeped in his work than I could ever be. All that being said, I do recognise & remember, hearing some of the tracks & bands featured on this collection courtesy of an older friend who lived with us for a time at the relevant period in the early 60’s. In fact the whole compilation kicks off with a number I do remember well from the wacky individual that was ‘Screaming Lord Sutch’ & his genuinely blood curdling opus ‘Jack The Ripper’ (see the video at the end of this piece). This is followed by Freddie Starr, who had a pretty decent voice albeit he was known for his comedic talent. His rendition of the ‘Peter Gunn Locomotion’ shows promise. Up next are another band vaguely familiar to me, The Syndicats with a spirited version of the classic ‘Maybelline’ which certainly gets the toes tapping. Other names spread across the collection that are familiar to me are The Riot Squad, The Cryin’ Shames (a great band) The Honeycombs & Heinz. Beyond that there is a wealth of names that will no doubt be known to Meek aficionados or anyone interested in this period & general beat genre. So to sum up, this is another hugely important release that the Joe Meek fraternity will love & will also appeal to those individuals just that bit older than me that grew up with this early beat genre. It’s certainly a voyage of discovery. The set comes in a sturdy clamshell box & is accompanied as ever by a lavishly illustrated & annotated booklet. Enjoy