SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing Pour A Little Sugar On It – The Chewy Chewy Sounds of American Bubblegum 1966-1971, Various Artists 3CD Box Set

POUR A LITTLE SUGAR ON IT (THE CHEWY CHEWY SOUNDS OF AMERICAN BUBBLEGUM 1966-71)  3CD SET

At long last those wonderful people at Grapefruit Records have put together an exhaustive new compilation of what many have derided over the years as disposable (being polite) or simply just crap music (being impolite!) the genre that became known as ‘bubblegum music’. Characterised by 3 minute, 3 chord (deceptively) simple pop melodies often with meaningless lyrics played by many ‘bands’ a large amount of which didn’t exist, but comprised studio concoctions using session managers. The whole sound was aimed at capturing the early teen market in America in the mid-late 60’s as pop and rock music grew more sophisticated for older buyers. It’s roots can reasonably be traced back to the advent of The Monkees and their manufactured pop sound created in 1966. With their massive success came many more imitators jumping on what became, at least, for a few short years a lucrative bandwagon. On this new compilation just about every major successful effort is represented alongside a wealth of long obscure ‘bands’. This new 3CD set comprises of 91 tracks spanning 4 hours of sugar sweet sounds that defined ‘bubblegum’ so sit down with a sherbert fountain or a bag of dolly mixtures and here’s what you’ll find. Disc1 kicks of with a trio of songs that exemplify the whole bubblegum movement with ‘Simon Says’ ‘Yummy Yummy Yummy’ & ‘ A Little Bit Me A Little Bit You’ by respectively the 1910 Fruitgum Company, Ohio Express & of course The Monkees. The first 2 tracks came out of New York based Buddah Records who were undoubtedly the kings of the genre (after Don Kirschner with The Monkees). Buddah gave us the majority of the really big hits from the aforementioned 2 bands plus Kasenetz-Katz Flying Orchestral Circus, with ‘Quick Joey Small’, Lou Christie with ‘I’m Gonna Make You Mine’ & ‘She Sold Me Magic’ (all included) & a host of others. As ever its away from these big names that the long forgotten and obscure sit with fabulous names such as Salt Water Taffy, Lt Garcias Magic Music Box & The Raspberry Pirates all giving us their take on the genre. There are some surprising names on Disc1 (as there are on Discs2 & 3) that are included as they had an abberation away from their normal output. The Grass Roots & Neil Diamond to name a couple. However I must take issue with the inclusion of The Electric Prunes! A beloved group of mine! Ok, ‘Everybody Know You’re Not In Love’ may be a long way from ‘I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night’. But bubblegum?! No siree! Other well remembered names from Disc1 turn up with Crazy Elephant, Lobo & The Cuff Links. The latter sporting Ron Dante on lead vocals. Ron was to American pop what Tony Burrows was to us over here in the UK. He was everywhere as a studio session singer as well as putting out singles under his own name, examples of which you can also hear on the compilation. Disc2 begins with a big personal favourite ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ from Tommy James & the Shondells whose record company Roulette Records also were heavily involved in releasing bubblegum. This is followed by The Lemon Pipers with the evergreen…er ‘Green Tambourine’! a fusion of bubblegim & psyche. Other treats come from Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Mama Cass, Bobby Bloom, Tommy Roe & The Archies. Again its the lesser known that provide some extra treats with the likes of The Pineapple Heard with an excellent version of ‘Valleri’ made famous by The Monkees. Again there are some unlikely names cropping up with forays into bubblegum territory including The Beach Boys, The Cowsills and would you believe The Velvet Underground! Again I have to take issue with the inclusion of The Box Tops who are featured twice, they were definitely pop/soul in my book, but heyho each to their own opinion. Finally Disc3 serves up more big hitters with Melanie, Rick Nelson & Bobby Sherman to name but three. Plus more hits from 1910 Fruitgum Company, The Lemon Pipers, Kasenetz Katz, John Fred & his Playboy Band and more. Amongst the obscure treats are tracks from South Amboy Port Authority, The Peppermint Trolley Company & The Love Generation amongst others. I’d have to argue again that the inclusion of Bruce (‘Hey Baby’) Channel with ‘Keep On’ merits the bubblegum tag, more pop/soul yet again in my book. The whole compilation comes to a close with what is really the poster child for the whole movement with The Archies ‘Sugar Sugar’ (video coming up). Its a funny old world, especially in music. I started by saying bubblegum was defined by 3 minute, 3 chord disposable songs with meaningless (in the main) lyrics. For this the artists were often derided and looked down upon by ‘musical snobs’, which i find pretty funny and ironical. If you wound the clock on a decade to 1976 it was all repeated, the 3 minute, 3 chord……etc. Except this time it was called Punk….which ‘musical snobs’ embraced….think about that. As ever this compilation comes housed in a sturdy clamshell box complete with a fascinating 48 page booklet. Enjoy.

For more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk

Til next time….stay safe…..Colin

Mick O’Dowd… What a compilation Colin. I’m with you regarding the simplicity of the genre. This gave us DJ’s a lot of dancing toons between them and were also very popular. Like you, there are several names on there that I wouldn’t put in that genre but hey ho!

Colin Bell… Hi Mate, certainly brings back some memories for us

Alan Esdaile… Always loved ‘Quick Joey Small’.

Terry Corder… Some great songs there. Thanks.

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing You Can Walk Across It On The Grass – The Boutique Sounds Of Swinging London, Various Artists 3CD Box Set

YOU CAN WALK ACROSS IT ON THE GRASS     Various Artistes  (3CD set)
Grapefruit Records have issued some really great compilations over the years, many reviewed in these pages. This latest package is right up there with their best ever. First that title. In April 1966 American heavyweight magazine Time ran a front page article with the headline ‘You Can Walk Across It On The Grass’ & went on to say how ‘Swinging London’ was the centre of the world when it came to contemporary pop culture. They were of course bang on there. From 1965 onwards, the music, fashion, art, films, actors, even furniture (remember egg shaped suspended chairs?) all were centred around one of the greatest cities in the world. It was a unique time when everything turned from the greyness of the 50’s into eye popping colour. Carnaby Street, the Kings Road, Mini Skirts, multi coloured Rolls Royce’s & Mini’s, creativity was everywhere. Tv channels started making and showing cool programmes like ‘The Avengers’ Gerry Anderson brought us classics like Thunderbirds, Dr Who appeared with the fearsome Daleks. Boutiques like Biba thrived & a plethora of clubs from the Scotch of St James to The Marquee hosted a multitude of bands every week, some would become stars, others would fall by the wayside. But everywhere there was innovation & optimism & a zest for life. This new compilation spread across 3 CD’s & over 4 hours of listening time seeks to capture the zeitgeist of that very special time. It does so admirably as it combines some great well known hit records alongside many less successful bands, who despite their lack of commercial success were very much part of ‘the scene’. To further the atmosphere of the time it also features zany offerings from icons such as Twiggy & Mandy Rice-Davies & some instrumentals synonymous with the period. This all adds up to a listening experience that transports you back to that heady time when us ‘baby boomers’ were really finding our feet & England & particularly London really was the centre of the universe. The mix of genres contained in this set is a real snapshot of the time, moving from pop, r’n’b, soul, Mod, freakbeat & more, there was room for anyone with something to say back then, when millions of 7inch pieces of vinyl flew out of the new trendy record shops. So to the music. Disc1 sets the mood perfectly with the instrumental ‘A Touch of Velvet – A Sting of Brass’ by The Mood Mosaic used extensively as intro music by DLT on Radio Caroline & later Jimmy Young (it was actually composed by Mark (Grocer Jack) Wirtz. Then its straight into the thumping sound of DD,DBM&T & ‘Hold Tight!’ followed by the excellent version Kiki Dee recorded of ‘Why Don’t I Run Away From You’. Already you can hear & visualise the diversity of ‘Cool Britannia’. The aforementioned Twiggy offers us ‘When I Think Of You’ followed by the wonderful & wacky ‘Kinky Boots’ from Avengers stars Patrick MacNee & Honor Blackman. Marquee favourites such as The Alan Bown Set, The Action & A Band of Angels (featuring local lad Mike d’Abo) make some cool contributions. What is probably one of my favourite up-tempo soul sounds of all time bursts out the speakers with the glorious ‘She Shot A Hole In My Soul’ by Geno Washington. Other artistes making up Disc1 include Dusty Springfield, The Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, Zoot Money & many more. Excellent. And speaking of excellent Disc2 gets off to a great start with a scream from Reg Presley & The Troggs as he proclaims ‘I Cant Control Myself’ followed by a young David Bowie with The Lower Third & ‘Cant Help Thinking About Me’ The Kinks provide one of the anthems of the era with ‘Dedicated Follower of Fashion’ The Fortunes remind us of the pirates with ‘Caroline’. Ron Grainer brings back TV memories with his theme to the series ‘Man In A Suitcase’ & The Who, arch Mod band at the time provide us with my favourite early single of theirs ‘I’m A Boy’. Elsewhere you can find tracks from Hastings Pier stalwarts Episode Six. Graham Bond, Tom Jones, Twinkle, John Mayall, The Merseys & a host of others. And finally to Disc3 which overall contains many of the lesser known acts who contributed to the scene such as The Untamed, The Syn, The Union & my old mate Miki Dallon. Big names are represented with tracks from The Small Faces, The Moody Blues, Georgie Fame, a pre ‘Kung Fu Fighting’ Carl Douglas, Jack Bruce & Johns Children. Reminding us of the pirates is the extremely annoying but fun ‘We Love The Pirates’ by the Roaring 60’s (an early contribution from hitmakers John Carter/Ken Lewis). This new compilation sets out to take us through an aural journey of a special time & succeeds wonderfully as many memories of sight & sound are stirred in my head, As ever Grapefruit Records boss David Wells provides a glossy 48 page booklet crammed with facts & ‘fab’ pictures. Definitely a 5 star release. Enjoy.
for more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk
Til next time…..take care….Colin

Mick O’Dowd… What a collection. Real memory jerkers here!

 

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing We Can Work It Out – Covers of The Beatles 1962-1966, Various Artists 3CD Box Set

WE CAN WORK IT OUT  Covers Of the Beatles  1962-1966  (3CD Set)    Various Artists
This is the second compilation of Beatles covers I’ve reviewed in these pages. The first back in 2020 was Grapefruit Records ‘Looking Through A Glass Onion’ which covered The Beatles psychedelic songbook from 1966-1972. This new compilation from Strawberry Records takes an extensive look at Beatles covers from what might be termed their ‘beat years’ 1962-1966, before the band became more experimental. The first 2 main thoughts that struck me when i looked at this set were, 1 the sheer number of Beatles tracks that Lennon/McCartney wrote, many of which it’s easy to forget they did, when you’re listening to another artistes cover. And No 2 the vast range of artists that were influenced by the band and put their own spin on many Beatles classics. The diversity of artistes, styles, genres & even languages is quite breathtaking on this new compilation. Boasting 85 tracks across 3 Cd’s there is a huge wealth of talent on display & it must be said some clunkers, that recorded the Fab Fours songs for a quick ‘cash in’.  You can find examples of pop, soul, jazz & even bluegrass sung by artists from all around the world, from France to America & Italy to New Zealand. Such was the influence and the reach of the most influential band in popular music history. Sprinkled throughout the collection are some familiar favourites & well known covers such as Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas ‘Do You Want To Know A Secret’ The Fourmost ‘Hello Little Girl’ Peter & Gordon ‘World Without Love; David & Jonathan ‘Yesterday’ Cilla Black ‘Love of the Loved’ & Petula Clark ‘Rain’ to name but half a dozen. The collection kicks off on Disc1 with a cover of The Beatles debut hit ‘Love Me Do’ delivered by Dick Rivers (a pseudonym for French singer Herve Forneri) who made a name for himself singing covers of Elvis & The Beatles. One of those ‘cash ins’ i alluded to earlier. If i have one small niggle with what is overall a fascinating new compilation i don’t think I’d have chosen to start the listening experience with a cover sang in French. It may be off putting for the casual listener who may then neglect to listen to some real corkers. I’d probably have started with something better known and less esoteric. However, be that as it may, many delights await over the course of Disc1, some highlights being Mary Wells taking a break from the acknowledged Motown sound with her take on ‘Please Please Me’. The Applejacks ‘Like Dreamers Do’ a rather superb jazz big band ‘swing’ instrumental contribution from Count Basie with ‘Hold Me Tight’ Mike Redway (an artist I’d never heard of) who recorded for Embassy Records & ‘I’ll Keep You Satisfied’. And one of my favourite Beatles covers of all time in the shape of the Mamas & Papas ‘I Call Your Name’ (which you can hear at the end of this review. Disc2 starts off gently with a saccharine sweet version  of ‘If I Fell’ performed by an Irish all girl group named The Coterie, another name i confess to never having crossed my radar, but their folk/pop rendition is really quite fetching. Highlights on this disc for yours truly range from Joe Cocker ‘I’ll Cry Instead’ Strawberry Fair ‘Things We Said Today’ Jan & Dean ‘You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away’ (probably my favourite song from ‘Help!’) P J Proby with ‘That Means A Lot’ & the wonderfully named Paraffin Jack Flash Ltd ‘Norwegian Wood’. The prize for the most ‘out there’ track of this whole eclectic collection has to go to Hollywood sex siren Mae West with a frankly barmy version of ‘Day Tripper’ which has to be heard to be believed! Fabulous! Disc3 starts in fine style with one of the best covers of the whole collection with superb and vastly underrated singer Madeline Bell, & her version of ‘You Wont See Me’, which is swiftly followed by kings of pop harmony Tony Rivers & The Castaways & ‘Nowhere Man’, almost better than the original. Elsewhere other highlights for me include Spanky & Our Gang ‘And Your Bird Can Sing’ Jimmy James ‘Good Day Sunshine’ The Cryan Shames ‘If I Needed Someone’ Tempest. a prog rock band unfamiliar to me, with a stonking ‘Paperback Writer’ & Junior Parker with a soulful take on ‘Taxman’ that gives it a whole new vibe. Overall, i think Disc3 contains my favourite collection of the 3 discs & in my opinion is the strongest, but others will have their own favourite. It doesn’t really matter where you land throughout this compilation you are sure to find something interesting, fascinating & sometimes downright wrong! did i mention Mae…..And personally, I could never get into the early 60’s pop ‘crooners like Mark Wynter, but that’s my problem, counselling is available i understand…But seriously, this is a rather wonderful collection that sits nicely next to the psychedelic compilation i mentioned earlier, as a companion piece. As usual the whole package is lovingly put together by Strawberry Records in a hard clamshell box, complete with a full colour, informative booklet covering each track. Enjoy
For more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk
Til next time….stay safe & warm……Colin…

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing March Of The Flower Children: The American Sounds Of 1967, 3CD Boxset Various Artists

MARCH OF THE FLOWER CHILDREN – The American Sounds of 1967   (3CD SET)
As anybody that has ever read any of the thousands of reviews I’ve written over the past 50 + years will know only too well, Psychedelia is my first and enduring musical love. So with apologies to those for repeating the fact yet again! but there’s always new readers to consider. This latest compilation from the ever excellent Grapefruit Records could have been compiled especially for me, and I couldn’t be happier settling in for a smorgasbord of sound lasting 4 hours spread over 3 Cd’s in this spanking collection featuring 85 tracks from some of the greatest names to feature in this mind bending musical genre. All the facets that make up the whole Psychedelic movement can be heard here, from hard acid rock, to folk rock. punk garage, toytown & sunshine pop & whimsical solo entries. Big names include Love, Vanilla Fudge, Young Rascals, Moby Grape, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Steppenwolf, The Velvet Underground & many more, including the band who first got me hooked in 1966/67 the glorious & unique ultimate garage band The Electric Prunes. It was the latter’s use of twisted, distorted fuzz laden instrumentation on ‘I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night’ (not included) that set me out on my voyage of mind bending musical discovery. The big names mentioned are sprinkled across the compilation which is bolstered in the main by the less well known & some outright obscure bands & artistes, although a lot of whom will be known to fellow aficionados, such as The Seeds, The Cryan Shames, Blue Magoos, The Beau Brummels, The Rare Breed, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Lemon Fog etc. Psychedelia had it’s roots in the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco and the Hippie movement with artistes like The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin & others in 1966 and by the ‘Summer of Love’ in 1967 reached it’s crescendo on both sides of the Atlantic. Here in Britain, which has been covered by previous Grapefruit compilations relating to 1967,we were listening to the likes of Traffic, Tomorrow, Spooky Tooth, The Nice, Cream etc etc, most of whom had drawn their inspiration from the San Francisco movement, although on the whole British psychedelia often tended to come in ‘softer’ form than its American counterparts. Anybody that’s already into the genre will understand what I’m relating, however for anybody new to the genre or want’s to revisit that most magical and experimental period this new compilation is an ideal starting point. There’s little point in me bombarding you with a lot of names to conjure with, especially for newbies, but here from across the 3 CD’s are, in my opinion, some of the standout tracks. The whole set kicks off on Disc1 with a band that I’ve always loved, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, with a tasty morsel (see what i did there) with the up-tempo mix of snarling guitar & Fifth Dimension style harmonies that make up their excellent offering ‘It’s A Happening Thing’. This is followed by, what for me, are the ultimate & finest exponents of the whole genre, Love. Arthur Lee’s vocal and lyrics have always had the ability to transport me to another world, here represented by iQue Vida!’ lifted from their superb 2nd album Da Capo. As is common with a lot of Love’s songs on first hearing they sound all sweetness and light, but on closer inspection are often unsettling and menacing, yet always superb. Great to see the inclusion of old friend, the late Tim Rose with the original recording he made of the classic ‘Morning Dew’ still the definitive version as far as I’m concerned. I was working with Tim on some gigs when he sadly and unexpectedly passed away in 2002, a great loss. Elsewhere on Disc1 are great tracks from the underrated Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Lovin Spoonful, The Mothers of Invention, The Kaleidescope, Harpers Bizarre & Eternity’s Children. Disc2 gets us underway with a stunning Prunes type track from a band unknown to me The Zodiac with a track entitled ‘Aries’ replete with a solemn spoken part, interwoven with melding Eastern music with rock, all very dark and mysterious. Then it’s on to a stone cold classic, with the majestic strains of Vanilla Fudge with their famous alternative version of the old Supremes hit ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’, here in it’s edited radio 3minute version as opposed to the full length album version that ran to 7 & a half minutes. This is followed by my all time favourite garage/psyche band, the previously mentioned Electric Prunes with ‘Hideaway’ a ‘B’ side of one of their lesser singles, but nonetheless a great track. The familiar names follow on with Moby Grape & The Stone Poneys with ‘Fall On You’ & ‘Evergreen Part One’ respectively. The track that lends the compilation it’s title follows with the splendid The Seeds and ‘March of the Flower Children’ which sounds more akin to something one of our own homegrown esoteric bands might have produced. Other tracks on Disc2 that stand out come from The Byrds with the seldom heard ‘Lady Friend’ & also The Cyrkle, The Lemon Drops, Captain Beefheart & The Endd amongst others. Disc3 features another personal favourite band with Steppenwolf & ‘The Ostrich’, another seldom heard track. The excellent Strawberry Alarm Clock are represented with ‘Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow’ ( a real psyche title if there ever was one!). Buffalo Springfield with ‘Bluebird’ and The Velvet Underground with ‘White Light/White Heat’ put in welcome appearances. There is an additional plethora of great songs from many obscure and unlikely artists such as Nilsson and surfer boys Jan & Dean! An honorable mention must also go to The Chamber Brothers with their classic experimental ‘Time Has Come Today’, a big personal favourite. The compilation concludes with The First Edition fronted by Kenny Rogers, who would of course become a solo Country superstar later in his career. Here he appears with his band who produced some classics of their own, famously with ‘Ruby Don’t Take Your Love To Town’ the wonderful ‘Somethins Burning’ and the psyche offering ‘Just Dropped In – To See What Condition My Condition is In’ (you can enjoy this in the video at the end of this review). It just remains for me to compliment David Wells once again, the head honcho at Grapefruit Records, for another superb compilation, lovingly compiled and accompanied as ever by an informative booklet crammed with info, photo’s & images. So, draw up a comfortable mushroom to sit on, put on your favourite headband, pass the Hookah and drift awa………y…..enjoy.
for more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk
Til next time…stay safe….Colin

Stephen Moran… Great review Colin

Mick O’Dowd… This contains so many bands that I never classed as psych! Maybe that’s why I never caught on to it until recently, through your posts Colin. Great stuff by looks of it and as I say i’ve heard and appreciated a lot of these artists

Colin Bell… Mick, I think to be fair, some of the artists you didn’t class as psyche, ultimately weren’t, but went through a period of experimenting during ’66/’67 before returning to, or moving on to other more suitable genres for them

Mick O’Dowd… Got into a lot of these from the samplers The Rock Machine Turns You On & Thr Rock Machine Loves You. Priced at an amazing (even in those days) 14/6d!

Colin Bell… Mick, Great samplers, really got a lot of people interested and as you say cheap, even then

Pete Prescott… So many bands ! Wow !

Claire Lonsdale… Would love to hear it! X

Alan Esdaile… Some great names here and a good sleeve.

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing Too Much Sun Will Burn: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1967 Volume 2, 3CD Box Set Various Artists

TOO MUCH SUN WILL BURN (The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1967 Volume Two) Various 

I could complete this review in 3 words…just buy it! But that won’t do will it.. That’s just the view of this reviewer who has been in love with psychedelia since it’s apogee in 1967, as any regular reader of my reviews, columns, or listeners to my specialist radio shows will know. Back in 2016, Cherry Red’s psyche label Grapefruit Records released the glorious 3CD set ‘Let’s Go Down And Blow Our Minds’ which was hugely well received ( & reviewed in these pages) now after a long anticipated wait, here 7 years later is its companion piece. Once again the whole 3CD set has been given all the love and attention it deserves. 3 Discs each housed in separate sleeves sporting their own cover designs (& disc designs) housed in a beautiful sturdy clamshell box, accompanied by a lavish 48 page booklet annotated by label boss David Wells, a guy for whom my admiration grows with each release he oversees. The booklet contains many rare photo’s together with sleeve covers & fascinating facts on each track to introduce the reader to the collection, & it kicks off with a quote from John Peel. Which could not be more apt, a) given his well known love of the genre & b) on a personal note, he was to become an early mentor & friend to me back in those halcyon days. So let’s get into all the delights on offer for your ears & senses to revel in. We kick off our lysergic drenched journey on Disc1 with what is probably most people’s’s idea of a classic piece of psychedelia in Traffic’s ‘Paper Sun’ which perfectly sets the scene for the 78 tracks to follow in its wake, over what will be a 4 hour journey down the rabbit hole. Immediately following Traffic is one of my all time favourite psyche bands Tomorrow, with ‘Revolution’ (no not The Beatles track!), the band comprised of several luminaries including Twink (Pink Fairies) & Keith West (of ‘Grocer Jack’ fame). ‘Revolution’ was the follow up to their near hit earlier that year with a cover of Nazareth’s arrangement of ‘My White Bicycle’ awash with ‘phasing’ & backward tape loops & all manner of effects so redolent of the whole scene Tomorrow for me have always been a major favourite & the version of ‘Revolution’ included here arrives in an alternate mix which is a bonus. I should add that many alternate takes, debut appearances & rare nuggets surface throughout the collection, to mine & I’m sure over aficionados delight.  Tomorrow are followed by Caleb ( who will be known to those aforementioned aficionados) an early bandmate along with a certain Reg Dwight in Bluesology, prior to releasing such nuggets as ‘Baby Your Phasing is Bad’ included here, the i think the title says it all! As ever it’s the obscure that delights me, but here Grapefruit Records have done a great job balancing this box set with its plethora of the little known, with the big names such as The Troggs, Elton John, The Strawbs (with Sandy Denny), Eric Burdon & the Animals, The Marmalade, The Flower Pot Men etc. Highlights for me on Disc1 come with some favourite tracks from excellent acts Tintern Abbey, The Syn, The Alan Bown! Johns Children & Hastings Pier stalwarts Episode 6 with ‘Love, Hate & Revenge’ bringing back some happy memories for me of working with the latter many times. And so onto Disc2 which opens with the piercing vibe of ‘Dive Into Yesterday’ by the criminally underrated & largely forgotten band Kaleidoscope, who like so many bands that surfaced at the time didn’t quite make it, but thoroughly deserved to. The Move put in an appearance with one of my favourite ‘B’ sides they ever made, in ‘Wave The Flag And Stop The Train’, which was originally coupled with ‘I Can Hear The Grass Grow’. The Move are joined on Disc2 by other big names The Who, Simon Dupree (& it’s not ‘Kites’!), Procol Harum. The Bonzo’s, DD,DBM&T, Nirvana, The Spencer Davis Group etc Some of the most interesting, & greatest psyche bands put in stellar appearances such as The Attack, The Virgin Sleep, The Mirage & The Artwoods with a special mention to another band i had the pleasure of working with on several occasions, in the shape of Orange Bicycle with ‘Hyacinth Threads’. They were a great band who combined vocal harmony work on par with The Beach Boys combined with intoxicating melodic psyche, a band i could listen to happily all day. As usual when writing about music i love I’m conscious i don’t have the space to discuss EVERY track! (as much as I’d like to), so we must move on to the final disc in the set Disc3. Starting with The Hollies and their foray into psychedelia (headed by Graham Nash) with Top 20 hit ‘King Midas In Reverse’. a great classic, but unfortunately it would also turn out to be the record that would cause the split within the band, that broke them apart with Nash leaving to form CS&N, but that’s a whole other story. Of all 3 discs this one serves up the greatest number of recognisable names with David Bowie, The Idle Race, The Pretty Things, The Small Faces. The Herd The Zombies etc, although you won’t find the ‘usual suspects’ tracks that most compilers put together, another plaudit to David Wells. Amongst the obscure & delightful are contributions from The Creation, The Tickle, Norma Rowe, The Action & Circle Plantagenet. Also, great to see the inclusion of Dave Davies with his second hit follow up to ‘Death Of A Clown’ with, to my mind an equally great record ‘Susannah’s Still Alive’ which sounds better in quality here (it usually sounds muddy) so thanks to whoever cleaned it up. New to me was The Bystanders track ‘Royal Blue Summer Sunshine Day’ a band that usually covered American harmony hits, they later morphed into Man the rock band. I never cease to marvel at all the tracks that surface after all these years that even die hard fans of the genre like me can still be surprised by. The whole collection comes to a close with the wisdom of Pete & Dud & ‘Bedazzled’ which to those of us of a ‘certain age’ brings a warm nostalgic smile. As the compilation alludes to with its title ‘Too Much Sun’. There were many bands in that wonderful ‘summer of love; in 1967 that took flight, some soared to happy heights and were rewarded with fame and glory and some, like Icarus, (the legend, not the band!) flew too close to the sun and crashed and burned to be forgotten. However like the man said, better to crash and burn than slowly fade away….enjoy

for more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk

Til next time….stay safe……Colin

Alan Esdaile… Great sleeve Colin and some interesting tracks. 1967 a Great year for music!

Mick O’Dowd… Even me who as you know wasn’t aware of what psych was i’ve actually heard a lot of these bands and hadn’t put them it that pigeonhole! Some great tracks on here

Claire Lonsdale… Lots of my favourite tracks and many more that I have to discover it seems

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing What A Groovy Day – The British Sunshine Pop Sound 1967-1972, 3CD Clamshell Box Various Artists

WHAT A GROOVY DAY -THE BRITISH SOUND OF SUNSHINE POP 1967-1972             Various Artists

Firstly, my apologies for being a bit late with this particular review, this compilation was released last month, however my initial review copy went astray and I’ve only just received it’s replacement. OK so what do we have? Well it couldn’t be more succinctly titled. You may be forgiven for thinking what is ‘sunshine pop’ exactly? To be honest I don’t remember when i started using that description myself, for what has always been basically previously referred to as good ‘harmony pop’. According to David Wells, whose label Grapefruit Records released this new compilation. In the late 90’s an article appeared in the respected magazine Record Collector looking in depth at the American harmony pop movement of the late 60’s as evinced by the likes of The Beach Boys, Mamas & The Papas, 5th Dimension etc etc who brought the sunshine, surfing, beach culture to the rest of the USA all wrapped up in happy feelgood harmony pop tunes. Here in the UK we may not have had the benefit of all that Californian sun & lifestyle but we certainly had our own movement of harmony pop acts, even though they may have conjured up images more redolent of Margate & ice cream than bronzed beach bunnies. As British record collectors latched on to our take on harmony pop, Record Collector editor Peter Doggett coined the ‘sunshine pop’ moniker to add some weight to the genre & distinguish it from it’s American inspiration. This new collection boasts over 4 hours of all that’s best in ‘sunshine pop’ spread over 3CD’s containing a total of 87 tracks which mingles some well known names & hits, combined with rarities & previously unreleased  gems. And full credit to Grapefruit Records they have mined deep on this release turning up gems like a demo by Sweetshop ‘Millions of Million’s which was the first effort by what would become major band Sweet. The whole collection gets underway with the song that gives the compilation it’s title ‘What A Groovy Day’ by Harmony Grass who previously known as Tony Rivers & the Castaways were a pivotal band of the genre. Tony along with John Carter (Ivy League, The Flower Pot Men. First Class etc) were the undisputed kings of well produced catchy harmony/sunshine pop. It’s a surprise that ‘What A Groovy Day’ which was the follow up to hit Harmony Grass track ‘Move In A Little Closer Baby’ (also included in this compilation) wasn’t also a hit, it’s lushly orchestrated catchy hook is really very good. It sets the tone perfectly for the whole compilation. If like me you are a fan of great harmony/sunshine pop you will take delight in hearing songs from bands such as Orange Bicycle, Episode Six, Jason Crest (all bands I’ve worked with). If you’re not familiar with those names you will be with the likes of The Seekers, Cliff Richard, White Plains, The Hollies, The Tremeloes, Hermans Hermits etc, all represented by less well known entries but by no means less interesting. I think it’s fairly pointless for me to go spewing out a whole lot of names contained in this compilation, which unless you’re a die hard fan of the genre, you will probably not recognise, but let me re-assure anyone with only a passing interest in British harmony/sunshine pop from the late 60’s to early 70’s this really is a goldmine of treasures. However to choose a few personal highlights. If you always thought The Congregations 70’s hit ‘Softly Whispering I Love You’ was a great record (i do) here you will find the original recording performed by David & Jonathan (Roger Cook & Roger Greenaway) who wrote it. Another gem is The Alan Bown! with their version of ‘We Can Help You’ originally written & recorded by the great Nirvana (Rainbow Chaser). The aforementioned White Plains ‘Every Little Move She Makes’ deserved to be a big hit but inexplicably wasn’t at the time. So many of these great tracks just nearly made it but for whatever reason didn’t crack the charts or the big time. Even Grapefruit represented here with ‘C’mon Marianne’ struggled to find lasting success despite the full patronage of The Beatles behind them. Long forgotten bands like Tinkerbell’s Fairydust & Sun Dragon all deserved a better fate too. I’ve chosen to end this review by appending a video of Dorian Gray with his version pf ‘I’ve Got You On My Mind’ an upbeat summery classic which peaked at No 36 & earned Dorian an appearance on TOTP, his one & only. The song was later recorded by White Plains who fared better getting to No 17 in the charts, a great version, however I’ve a soft spot for Dorian’s version. As ever i salute David Wells for his wonderfully annotated 48 page booklet that accompanies this release in it’s sturdy clamshell box. Quite simply it’s the soundtrack to what will hopefully be a great British summer and will certainly put a smile on your face. Enjoy.

for more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk
Til next time…..stay safe….Colin

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing Tony Rivers: Move In A Little Closer – The Complete Recordings 1963-1970, 3CD Box Set

TONY RIVERS – MOVE IN A LITTLE CLOSER – THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS 1963-1970  (3CD SET)

It’s been a long time coming, but finally Tony gets a comprehensive release of all his recordings from his career with the Castaways & Harmony Grass. I’m delighted for him. He’s a member of this (SMART) group & i know has many FB friends on the site. So, Tony if and when you read this review any errors that follow are purely mine! I’ve never made any secret of my love for harmony/sunshine pop as regular readers will know. Along with John Carter, Rogers- Cook & Greenaway, Tony is one of the most pivotal exponents of the genre to emerge from the 60’s. He’s been there & got the T shirt many times over and has nothing to prove to anyone. There, as usual, is an excellent essay accompanying this new release by Grapefruit Records boss David Wells with many insights on his career from Tony himself and i highly recommend you read it for the full picture of a man who like his 2019 autobiography title says ‘I’m Nearly Famous’. Tony’s story started back in 1961 when a 20 year old Tony Thompson originally from County Durham began working at Butlin’s Holiday Camp in Clacton as a lowly store clerk with ambitions to sing. It was at a Butlins Staff Show that he first got up on stage and sang a couple of Cliff Richard numbers, ironically a foretaste of one of his greatest successes that would come years later as musical director/arranger for Cliff during his re-invention & hugely successful period in the 70’s & 80’s. However back to the beginning and whilst at Butlins Tony met another musician which would lead him to eventually meet and join up with Dagenham band The Cutaways as lead singer. At this point Tony Thompson became Tony Rivers. The Cutaways played all the usual clubs, ballrooms etc of the times, they gained experience, members and managers came and went but by 1962 their latest manager suggested a change of name to the more catchy Tony Rivers & The Castaways and now a fully pro band they attended and passed an audition for EMI Records at Abbey Road in 1963. It was in April of that year that Tony first encountered The Beatles, supporting them at a gig at the Pigalle club following that year’s annual New Musical Express Concert at Wembley. Tony would later go on to be managed by Brian Epstein, but I’m in danger of writing his life story here, so once more i urge you to read the aforementioned essay for the full picture, lets get to the 3 CD’s contained in this package. I’m very pleased to see unlike some compilations this one lays out the tracks in chronological order which enables you to follow the development of Tony and the band. The whole thing kicks off on Disc1 with ‘Shake Shake Shake’ a cover of a recent hit for American Jackie Wilson & whilst it’s energetic and perfectly competent it’s not especially memorable, however it does immediately show off Tony’s voice to good advantage & along with the next half a dozen following tracks you notice the compelling harmony work going on. All the songs sound like they could have happily landed on The Beatles ‘Please Please Me’ album if they had just been a touch more catchy. But i could make that statement about a great many of the groups from that time. Things start to change musically when we hit track 9 ‘Til We Get Home’ a song written by Tony that is as close to a Beach Boys number as any UK performer has ever come. This was the result of Tonys new found friendship with Carl Wilson & Brian Johnson who he had met at EMI house in Manchester Square. It was at their suggestion that Tony & Co record ‘God Only Knows’ as a single (track 20 on this compilation) as the band themselves had no intention of doing so, it was just another track from the then unreleased ‘Pet Sounds’ In July 1966 Tony & the Guys released their version… on the same day as The Beach Boys own original version! This sort of combination of broken promises/bad luck/timing, seems to loom largely over the whole of Tony’s career throughout the 60’s particularly and beyond…Also to be found on Disc1 is the boys cover of The Beatles ‘Nowhere Man’ from Rubber Soul, and a very good version as a single it is. However, the ‘curse’ of the Castaways struck again when despite given a catalogue number by EMI at the last moment the release was cancelled by Brian Epstein who decided against releasing it. One of the best tracks on Disc1 belongs to a number called ‘The Grass Will Sing For You’ a beautifully constructed song that sounds like a cross between The Beach Boys & The Association, albeit with Tony’s own musical magic touch to the exquisite harmony work. Tony is no mean songwriter either CD1 concludes with his composition ‘Pantomime’ which has a whiff of psyche about it along with the trademark harmonies. After years at EMI with little to no success by late 1968 things badly needed to change. And change they did in came a new manager, a new producer Chris (Yesterday Man) Andrews & a new label RCA Records. In January 1969 this combination along with a name change to Harmony Grass finally rewarded Tony & the boys with a No 24 hit record with ‘Move In A Little Closer’ a gloriously catchy slice of pop, retaining the harmonies the band were renowned for, but also adding far more orchestral backing (courtesy of Johnny Arthey), a move, purist Tony wasn’t especially onboard or comfortable with.,.however nothing ventured…But again that earlier ‘curse’ i alluded to came back to bite them, when the very week ‘Move In A Little Closer’ was heading up the charts, the way in which units were sold and calculated for chart position was changed resulting in the band’s first, and as it turned out sole hit, being stuck in the 20’s when it should have been in a higher position! Although I don’t think in my own opinion Tony was as happy with his work in Harmony Grass as his previous incarnation, i personally prefer much of the material such as the beautiful ‘I’ve Seen To Dream’ (written by Tony) a very classy & i think more contemporary piece of material. Another choice track is ‘Good Thing’ to coin a phrase ‘God Only Knows’ how long it took Tony to work out all those harmony parts! The standout track for me though has to be another composition by Tony entitled ‘Summer Dreaming’, had this been put out in the USA under the CS&N name i predict it would have been a monster hit. I’m getting short of space now (as usual!) but room to mention Disc3 that is a first time on CD issue for some of the bands most popular songs recorded for BBC sessions in both Castaway & Harmony Grass configurations. To summarise, this new and much requested compilation of a British harmony icon will delight his many fans. Boasting 88 tracks, together with the splendid essay i referred to earlier, i congratulate Grapefruit Records on yet another winning release. As for Tony, he may be the only man i can think of to have the patronage of The Beach Boys, hung with The Beatles, been managed by the 2 greatest managers ever in Brian Epstein and Robert Stigwood, play everywhere you can imagine and work his socks off for a decade to only have one solitary hit to show for it by 1970. However, his story was far from over after that and he would go on to new milestones, but that is a story for another day and maybe another compilation. Enjoy!

for more information fo to https://www.cherryred.co.uk/
Til next time….stay safe…Colin

Mick O’Dowd… They were rumoured to have been the only band to play Good Vibrations live on stage. If true I just know that they could have done it. Even the BB didn’t include it in their stage act until later on. I have seen them a couple of times at The Witch Doctor in St.Leonards in the 60’s and they appeared on the Pier as well. Great band and highly underated. Thanks for this Colin.

Alan Esdaile… Not forgetting he sung The Likely Lad’s theme ‘Whatever happened To You’.

Colin Bell… Alan, I forgot to mention that!

 

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell. Reviewing The First Class: Beach Baby – The Complete Recordings, 3CD Set

BEACH BABY – THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS       The First Class
Hi everyone. Happy New Year to you all. Welcome to another year of SMART SOUNDS reviewing all the best new compilations & re-releases of classic material from the 60’s & 70’s. There are many exciting albums & artistes on the way. So, lets kick off the year with the release of a long overdue handsome box set compiling all the records credited to The First Class, plus a plethora of unreleased tracks, pseudonymous tracks, jingles & more. When Christmas comes around we all know & expect to hear Slade & ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ & when Summer rolls around you can guarantee you will hear the one track by First Class everybody knows ‘Beach Baby’. Its long been a disappointment to me that the vast majority of people never get past listening to any other First Class tracks, there is so much to discover & enjoy. At last, those lovely people at Grapefruit Records have compiled this lavish 3CD digipack, complete as usual with a well written set of notes by label boss David Wells. The First Class was the brainchild of a man who has featured in these pages several times, lastly with a compilation dedicated to all his many creations. That man is John Carter. For anyone who isn’t familiar with John, he is the man who started life in a band called the Carter-Lewis Southerners with songwriting partner Ken Lewis (Hawker), gave us The Ivy League, The Flowerpot Men, White Plains & many ‘one off” names over the decades. When it comes to harmony pop John is a titan in the UK music scene & The First Class was arguably the apogee of his achievements. It’s certainly a view i hold myself. Many critics back in 1974 when ‘Beach Baby’ was released referred to it as a UK pastiche of American icons The Beach Boys. It’s true the Beach Boys style was an obvious influence but there it ends. For years John had spent his time in the studio making records (& advertising jingles) & releasing them under different names as aforementioned. Although he would sometimes perform live he had no real interest in doing so, his love was to be in the studio creating. After years of collaborative songwriting with Ken his writing partner, in 1972 John’s wife Gill started writing with John when Ken started experiencing health problems. Gill’s way with lyrics brought a new perspective to the mix when she wrote an early hit in 1972 ‘Dreams Are Ten A Penny’ released under the name Kincade. Although not a hit in the UK it was big across the continent. The following summer in 1973 whilst John was watching the Wimbledon final Gill sat & wrote the lyrics to what became ‘Beach Baby’. Immediately seeing it’s more mature potential John came up with the tune & gathering together members of his usual collaborators & session singers, chiefly Tony Burrows & Chas Mills the trio entered the studio & ‘Beach Baby’ was born. The finished recording was licensed to independent label UK Records, owned & ran by Jonathan King. It was a hit single on both sides of the Atlantic in Summer 1974. My old friend & mentor John Peel, not really noted for his love of ‘pop’ music described it as ‘ 5 minutes of near perfection’, praise indeed. The success of BB led to the demand from King for a follow up single & more importantly an album. Using BB as a template John, Tony & Chas together with other regular contributors including former Shadows drummer Brian Bennett entered the studio & with all the songs written by John & wife Gill came up with the album. They had the clever idea of linking the tracks with a fading in & out radio presenter, as if you the listener, were tuning in your radio, complete with a whooshing & high pitched whine. The album simply self titled forms CD1 of this new box set. I believe it is not just a great pop harmony record, It is one of the finest albums of any genre to emerge from the UK in the 70’s & contains some of the most lovingly crafted, intricate & beautifully constructed songs committed to vinyl in those days. You may think I’m eulogising too much for a ‘pop’ record but trust me I’m very definitely not. I don’t usually struggle to come up with a suitable adjective to describe songs, when it comes to many songs on this album such as ‘What Became Of Me’ ‘Long Time Gone’ ‘Bobby Dazzler’ (the follow up single to BB) & in particular ‘I Was Always A Joker’ the right adjective is i believe ‘majestic’ (you can judge the latter for yourselves with the YT clip accompanying this review). John (who sang lead on ‘Joker’) managed to create an album that evokes the best of the 60’s records that contained a summer ‘vibe’. I love this album, even the inclusion of reworked versions of ‘Dreams Are Ten A Penny’ & early Ivy League hit ‘Funny How Love Can Be’ are not out of place or surperfluous. The original album is bolstered on this release by an additional dozen bonus tracks, many previously un-released. Although not commercially a huge seller King was still enthusiastic enough to release more First Class singles & commission a 2nd album. This was released in 1976 entitled SST (an acronym for Super Sonic Travel) & takes up CD2 of this compilation. As John was not expecting to produce a 2nd album for King SST doesn’t cut it in the way its superb predecessor did. This is not entirely surprising when you realise the songs were compiled together from disparate recording sessions which were not all primarily intended to end up on a First Class album. However, having said that it still has its highlights such as ‘I Was A Star’ another loving Beach Boy-esque pastiche, the plaintive ‘Childs Play’ or the multi layered upbeat ‘Life Is Whatever You Want It To Be’ Rather annoyingly (& it’s my one complaint) it contains the short edited version of a personal favourite in ‘Too Many Golden Oldies’ (the full length version is the final track of the compilation on Disc3). I wish it had been placed where the edit has been. Still a minor niggle. Again, like Disc1, SST contains a wealth of bonus tracks (including some nostalgic jingles that made me smile) & some interesting tracks, new to me I’ve not heard before such as ‘Broken Toy’ & the bands take on the old Brenton Wood track ‘Gimme Little Sign’. Disc3 completes the set with a huge selection of jingles, one off creations & all manner of other John Carter creations which although of interest to die hard fans, may prove to be non essential to fans of First Class & will probably be best appreciated by completists, interested in Johns full remarkable musical history. So, there we have it, the first review of 2023 & for me its been a great start. Once again i congratulate Grapefruit Records on doing a fine job of making this new compilation available, Its worth buying just to own that debut album alone. Enjoy.

for more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk
Til next time…..stay safe…..Colin

to catch up on Colin’s previous SMART SOUNDS reviews … https://ninebattles.com/category/colin-bell-smart-sounds/

Mick O’Dowd… Always thought FC were a one-hit wonder, disposable pop etc. Didn’t know about all the other stuff. I knew JK was prolific inventor of bands/singers and I was aware of Tony Burrows. This appears to be a very good compilation I must say

Colin Bell… I’m pretty sure knowing you as well as i do, you’d enjoy it for sure

Alan Esdaile… I was always a joker is a Great track.

 

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing Climb Aboard My Roundabout! The British Toytown Sound 1967-1974, 3CD Box Set

CLIMB ABOARD MY ROUNDABOUT The British Toytown Sounds 1967-1974    (3CD set) 

I have been eagerly awaiting this release. For a lifelong lover of psychedelia this is like unwrapping a highly anticipated present on Christmas morning. Grapefruit Records & head honcho David Wells have come up with another 24carat compilation in their ever expanding excellent catalogue. Climb Aboard My Roundabout invites you to get onboard with 87 tracks spread over 3 CD’s, running to over 4 hours, of the sub genre of British psychedelia that over the years has become known as ‘Toytown’. I have to say straight away that that’s not the name I personally have used over the years to describe this collection of examples of wonderful British eccentricity, but I’m happy to run with it, if that is what the aforementioned David Wells assures me is what collectors refer to this wonderful world as. So, for the uninitiated what is ‘Toytown’ sounds? Probably the most famous &  best known example that most people would know is Keith West’s ‘Excerpt from a Teenage Opera’ (or ‘Grocer Jack’) if you prefer, included here closing CD1. A deceptively whimsical tale of an old grocer in a very British town failing to deliver his goods on his round. The record has all the ingredients that make up a ‘Toytown’ track, it conjures up images of childhood, uses children’s voices liberally, contains sweeping orchestration & generally transports you to a wondrous other world full of cosy imagery, but within this world reminiscent of Trumpton, Camberwick Green etc there sometimes lies a darker heart. Let’s not forget that ‘Grocer Jack’ had a fatal heart attack! The whole genre really got off to a start when The Beatles released their double ‘A’ side single ‘Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny lane’ back in February 1967. The two songs both delved back into John & Paul’s collective, if different, memories of childhood & set the template for the 100’s that would follow in their wake. A whole phalanx of writers & artistes turned to the works of the likes of Edward Lear & probably most notably Lewis Caroll whose adventures of Alice in Wonderland has been plundered as the inspiration for many a ‘Toytown’ tune. I had my own flirtation with this world when my close friends in Ruperts People wrote & recorded ‘Prologue to a Magic World’ built around Alice back in 1967. The artistes that make up the majority of the records featured in this compilation will most likely be largely unknown to those not already steeped in late 60’s esoterica. But that’s not to say every artist is obscure. The compilation gets off in fine style with Jeff Lynne’s early band The Idle Race with what was nearly a hit ‘The Skeleton & The Roundabout’ featured here in it’s rarer mono mix which has a different ending with additional vocals. It has an irresistible catchy chorus. childlike bewitching lyrics all set to a mildly lysergic acid influenced musicality. And that description really sums up the basis of ‘Toytown’ songs for me. I unfortunately don’t have the space to give you a blow by blow description of every track, however, if you go to CD 1 track 12 ‘Peter’s Birthday’ by The World of Oz & listen to that followed by the next 3 tracks ‘Ha! Ha! Said the Clown’ in it’s original demo form written & performed by Tony Hazzard (a big hit for Manfred Mann) ‘Sad Simon Lives Again’ Tim Andrews & lastly ‘Uncle Joe The Ice Cream Man’ The Mindbenders. Those 4 songs grouped together encompass & demonstrate perfectly all the best qualities of the genre, the prolific use of whimsical orchestration, nonsensical, yet hugely entertaining lyrics, incredibly ‘hooky’ melodies & just a whole other-worldly atmosphere. Scattered throughout the compilation there are names you will recognise, like the aforementioned Keith West & The Idle Race plus The Herd, Consortium, David Bowie, Jigsaw, Spencer Davis, Nirvana etc but in all likelihood not with the tracks you are probably most familiar with. However, this is where the listener is hugely rewarded with golden nuggets that in a lot of cases have been lost, or indeed never heard, in the mists of time. Some tracks bring back instant memories for me,  for example i remember laughing myself silly when first listening to The Bonzo Dog Do Dah Bands album ‘Gorilla’ all those years ago represented here by one of it’s best tracks the gloriously silly ‘The Equestrian Statue’. In addition there is a plethora of rare and un-released material just waiting to be discovered across the 3 CD’s. I hope this has given you just enough of a flavour of all the candyfloss delights this compilation has to offer any music lover with even just a passing interest in this wonderful 1960’s world of dreams inhabited by fairies, wizards & all manner of fantasies. It’s the aural equivalent of getting out a long discarded Enid Blyton book & reading it accompanied by lashings of ginger beer! & returning to your childhood. Fanciful? yes, but so much to enjoy. Once again i commend Grapefruit Records for their attention to detail, from the sturdy clamshell box to the excellent & as ever, very informative accompanying 48 page fully illustrated booklet. Pull up a mushroom to sit on, make yourself comfortable, settle down with a hookah (herbal naturally) & enjoy!

Fore more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk
Til next time…..stay safe & well…..Colin

 

Claire Lonsdale… Right up my street, and I think Colin, you and I were discussing the Idle Race a few months ago. I loved Climb Aboard My Roundabout. X

Colin Bell… Claire, I do believe we were, you’d certainly enjoy this compilation i know

Reid McDuffie… These Cherry Red compilations are bloody marvellous

Mick O’Dowd… Wow from what you have written a fantastic compilation. Excert from was the only decent track on the Teenage Opera album but what a track. Always loved Idle Race. Fave Bonzos was probaby Canyons of Your Mind or maybe Jollity Farm or the brilliant Intros and Outros. Great looking album!

Alan Esdaile… Great review Colin. Agree with you Mick on Bonzos Canyons.

Alan Wood… Indeed an early Xmas present for me, grocer jack in my top 15 and saw The Herd on the old Pier

 

SMART SOUNDS by Colin Bell reviewing Shape Of The Rain: Riley Riley Wood & Waggett, 3CD Digipak

RILEY RILEY WOOD & WAGGETT    Shape Of The Rain
Who? I hear you cry, well  in this instance I would echo that myself. I like to think after 50 + years in this business that even if I don’t know their work I will at least have heard of them, but I must confess not this time. So let’s investigate, come with me back to the end of the 60’s/start of the 70’s. Many bands had dropped their previous incarnation’s and gone ‘psych’ ‘prog’ ‘freakbeat’ ‘experimental’ etc etc. To cater for these ‘underground’ bands, the major Record Labels all created offshoot labels, EMI had Harvest, Pye Had Dawn, Philips had Vertigo, Decca had Deram and bringing up the rear was RCA with Neon. Now I have this particular quirk that remembers Record Labels (I used to file my mobile disco records by label) so I DO remember Neon but for another long forgotten band in Dando Shaft. In operation for just over a year from 1971 -2 the label only had 11 releases of which SOTR was number 7. Hailing from an area of the country bounded by Sheffield and Chesterfield the band came together originally as a Everly Bros style duo of cousins Keith Riley (lead vocals/guitar),and Brian Wood (guitar vocals before being joined by Keith’s brother Len Riley (bass) and Iain ‘Tag’ Waggett (drums).  The band’s name changed constantly, The Gear (inspired by their covers of Liverpudlian bands and Beatlesque sound) The Reaction was another and it was at this point they recorded a brace of demo’s and a local record shop owner David McPhie took an interest (he also represented Sheffield’s own Joe Cocker) and duly became their manager. With a name change to the more contemporary Shape Of The Rain all was set. This 3CD package covers their 1971 album RRW&W, a host of demo’s, outtakes, alternative versions, the demo’s for the aborted second album, a 50 minute live show from May 1970 and more. Disc 1 contains the original album kicking off with ‘Woman’ which, as noted in the sleevenotes, is a riff heavy pop/rock number sounding in structure very similar to Atomic Rooster’s ‘Devil’s Answer’ (co-incidentally issued on the same day!), this was issued as a single but didn’t trouble the charts at all, But this didn’t bother Neon, singles ‘weren’t cool man’ this was the dawn of the album…much cooler…er..man. After all the man in charge at Neon was Olav Wyper who in his previous life had been at CBS where he had dreamed up the much lauded sampler ‘The Rock Machine Turns You On’. Why am I banging on about labels? because that’s where the problem with the success or rather lack of it for Shape Of The Rain lies. They were a good sounding band, they wrote their own material, and where they didn’t ,had excellent taste performing material by The Byrd’s and Love. Now as any reader of my reviews, column’s etc will know Love is a band really close to my heart. Shape Of The Rain were clearly heavily influenced by the prevailing West Coast Sound, track 7 ‘Dusty Road’ is a prime example as is the following track  ‘Willowing Tree’s. And this is my point about success, had SOTR been on RCA’s main label there would have been more emphasis on promotion and put frankly money spent. To be fair even the band admit they were ‘musically confused’ but being hidden away, on a albeit ‘cool’ underground label served them badly. Their music is hook laden, delicate and contains some stunning arrangement’s, the Press of the time were impressed comparing them favourably to the like’s of Traffic and Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman took them to his heart as a big fan. So you had a commercially adept band hidden away on an obscure label, it was a no win situation as the fans of the ‘underground labels’ were looking for something more esoteric than SOTR and the main label fans of RCA were being treated to Bowie, Sweet etc i.e. the commercially successful acts of which SOTR could have been one. They have also been compared to Badfinger which I think is a fair comment, good hooky melodic songs and credibility to boot. The songs written for the second unreleased album show a growing confidence ‘The Very First Clown’ and ‘Listen To Your Heart’ being two examples.

The 3rd disc in the set is the previously mentioned ‘live recording’ taped at Manchester University (supporting Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) and given the recording restraints of the time is remarkably good, it captures the band in fine form (love the ‘Hendrix’ licks) mostly made up of new material at the time it did include a great version of ‘Willowing Tree’s from the Riley, Riley, Wood & Waggett album. And what about that album title? hardly jumps off the sleeve does it? I have a horrible suspicion somebody said something along the lines of ‘Crosby, Stills & Nash’ that’s cool man lets do that with this album. enough said! Eventually the band transferred to the main label and carried on til the mid 70’s before going their separate ways. Its a fact that there is more 60’s & 70’s music available to listen too today than there was then, incredible but true, so many albums never saw the light of day for so many reasons and some rightly so but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Shape Of The Rain and plugging a gap in my musical knowledge. Grapefruit Records have done their usual sterling job on the presentation of the set and the 24 page booklet contains many evocative photo’s and pictures of vintage poster’s and sound quality is excellent. Enjoy.

Til next time….please all stay safe and well……Colin

For more information go to https://www.cherryred.co.uk

Tag Waggett… thanks for your kind words and thanks for an excellent review. Tag Waggett ( drummer) SOTR

Colin Bell… Hi Tag, good to hear from you, i hope i did your album justice, stay safe & well

Bill Griffiths… the first eight live tracks were recorded at Alfreton Hall on 2nd May 1970 on a Tandberg 1541 mono recorder and a Shure microphone . I was fortunately able to find a position at the back of the hall in an elevated position above the audience. the hall itself is not large being the remains of a former stately home of the Morewoods family, now a wedding venue. A couple of tracks were not included on the cd, possibly to leave room for the Manchester set.

Tony Davis… Really interesting piece Colin. As you say many lost bands of the late 60s and early 70s are now coming to light and bringing hidden gems to life.

Colin Bell… Thanks Tony, the review i posted yesterday of the 3CD set of bands covering The Beatles has some great stuff on it, which may well interest you, Cheers.

A.A.Matthews… Excellent notes about this band that until a few days ago were unknown to me. May I draw attention to Cross & Ross , another little known UK outfit from the early 1970’s. They appeared to be influenced by CSNY, the Laurel Canyon sound, and other West Coast outfits. Well worth seeking out

Colin Bell… Thanks for your comments A.A. I’m happy my review led you to discover a very interesting band