VA - Eddie Piller Presents British Mod Sounds of the 1960s Volume 2 (4 x CDs)

 

BRITISH MOD SOUNDS 2

VA - Eddie Piller Presents British Mod Sounds of the 1960s Volume 2 (4 x CDs)

With a CV that consists of being a co-founder of Acid Jazz Records, radio DJ, club owner, and general expert on all thing's mod, it's clear that Eddie Piller knows his stuff inside and out. After having stewarded compilations of mod music from the 1960s and '80s, he expands his reach a little on Eddie Piller Presents: British Mod Sounds of the 1960s, Vol. 2 - The Freakbeat & Psych Years. As the title would indicate, the artists compiled within stray from the R&B and energetic sounds of the original mod sounds in favor of a more ornate, trippier, and ofttimes weirder approach. As with many comps of this nature, the track list is made up of big names (the Who, the Small Faces -- whose fan club was run by Piller's mother in the '60s -- and Traffic); artists who have garnered loads of cred over the years (the Action, the Creation, Tomorrow); and a boatload of obscure bands ripe for discovery. Some of the best songs culled from this last category include the Accent's folk-meets-metal ripper "Red Sky at Night," the Fruit Machine's "I'm Alone Today," and the End's "Shades of Orange," which makes good use of bongos, music hall trumpets, and super mystical lyrics. Piller does a good job of mixing and matching groups and sounds, flowing easily from jumped-up freakbeat rockers like the Micky Finn's "Garden of My Mind" to the Baroque psych-pop of Warm Sounds' "Nite-Is-a-Comin'" to the Mike Stuart Span's hard psych "Children of Tomorrow" to the overstuffed pop sound of Nirvana's "Rainbow Chaser." It sounds like the work of a skilled DJ throughout, and Piller's background in jazz and soul is reflected by the large number of tracks that have some groove to them. Songs like Graham Bond's "Love Is the Law" or Nucleus' stretched-out jam "Song for the Bearded Lady" don't usually show up on collections like this, and it's nice that the playing field is expanded to include them. Scott Walker doesn't either -- maybe he's too popular -- but his "Montague Terrace (In Blue)" fits like a glove. Especially when it's followed by the 23rd Turnoff's different take on dramatic psychedelia "Michael Angelo." These kind of juxtapositions, Piller's ear for a good song, and the overall high quality of the selections make this a respectable entry in the freakbeat-psychedelic comp sweepstakes. It might have rated a bit higher minus some obvious song selections -- does anyone ever need to hear "Pictures of Matchstick Men" ever again and, as amazing as it is, perhaps a more obscure song by the Who other than "I Can See for Miles" might have been better. That being said, anyone seeking a quick education on what made this era of British pop and underground music so exciting will be well served by dipping into this set. (AMG review by Tim Sendra)

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Pt.1     Pt.2 

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Track lists

CD1

01 Fairies - Get Yourself Home 2:28

02 Birds - No Good Without You Baby 2:39

03 Poets - Call Again 2:24

04 Sorrows - Youve Got What I Want 1:59

05 Eyes - When The Night Falls 2:32

06 New Breed - Unto Us 2:30

07 Riot Squad - I Take It Were Through 2:50

08 Jan Panter - Scratch My Back 2:36

09 Wimple Winch - Save My Soul 3:07

10 Loose Ends - Taxman 2:30

11 Ivy League - My World Fell Down 2:51

12 Yardbirds - Happenings Ten Years Time Ago 2:57

13 Fleur De Lys - Mud In Your Eye 3:01

14 Truth - Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness) 2:04

15 Scots Of St James - Tic Toc 2:23

16 Flies - Im Not Your Stepping Stone 2:38

17 Move - Disturbance 2:50

18 Craig - I Must Be Mad 2:47

19 Drag Set - Day And Night 2:16

20 Apostolic Intervention - Tell Me (Have You Ever Seen Me) 2:00

21 David Bowie - The Gospel According To Tony Day 2:51

22 Tomorrow - My White Bicycle 3:17

23 Johns Children - Midsummer Nights Scene 2:34

24 Caleb - Baby Your Phrasing Is Bad 3:16

25 Attack - Created By Clive 2:40

26 Gods - Come On Down To My Boat Baby 2:45

27 Alex Harvey - The Sunday Song 2:27

28 Keith West - Excerpt From A Teenage Opera 4:30

CD2

01 Our Plastic Dream - Encapsulated Marigold 2:20

02 Action - In My Dream 3:21

03 Dantalians Chariot - Madman Running Through The Fields 4:11

04 Kaleidoscope - Flight From Ashiya 2:40

05 Sands - Listen To The Sky 3:46

06 Scott Walker - Montagu Terrace (In Blue) 3:28

07 23rd Turnoff - Michael Angelo 2:25

08 Fairytale - Listen To Mary Cry 2:03

09 Felius Andromeda - Meditations 4:09

10 Ice - Anniversary Of Love 3:10

11 Ruperts People - Dream On My Mind 3:24

12 Accent - Red Sky At Night 3:13

13 Creation - Life Is Just Beginning 2:58

14 Who - I Can See For Miles 4:07

15 Fleetwood Mac - Rambling Pony 2:41

16 Cymbaline - Matrimonial Fears 3:46

17 Tintern Abbey - Vacuum Cleaner 3:06

18 Traffic - Coloured Rain 2:43

19 Andy Ellison - Its Been A Long Time 3:20

20 Micky Finn And Aphrodite - Garden Of My Mind 2:31

21 Warm Sounds - Nite Is A Comin 3:00

22 Mike Stuart Span - Children Of Tomorrow 3:17

23 Nirvana - Rainbow Chaser 2:37

24 Mark Wirtz - Weatherman 3:59

CD3

01 Spencer Davis Group - Moonshine 2:40

02 End - Shades Of Orange 2:40

03 Fire - Fathers Name Is Dad 2:30

04 Turquoise - Tales Of Flossie Fillett 3:04

05 Billy Nicholls - London Social Degree 2:22

06 Aquarian Age - 10,000 Words In A Cardboard Box 3:26

07 Status Quo - Pictures Of Matchstick Men 3:11

08 Idle Race - The Morning Sunshine 1:48

09 Montanas - A Step In The Right Direction 3:14

10 July - Dandelion Seeds 3:20

11 Family - See Through Windows 3:46

12 Icarus - The Devil Rides Out 2:32

13 Plastic Penny - Your Way To Tell Me Go 2:48

14 Elastic Band - Hours Of Paradise 3:55

15 Vamp - Floatin 2:34

16 Paul West And Compass - Hey You 2:22

17 Sam Gopal - Escalator 2:52

18 Sound Barrier - Groovin Slow 2:56

19 Apple - Buffalo Billycan 3:07

20 Timebox - Gone Is The Sad Man 3:45

21 Locomotive - Mr Armageddon 4:26

22 Ossie Layne Show - Rock My Plimsoll 3:23

23 Californians - The Cooks Of Cake And Kindness 2:39

CD4

01 Koobas - Barricades 5:04

02 Troggs - Evil Woman 2:55

03 Graham Bond - Love Is The Law 4:38

04 Misunderstood - Children Of The Sun 2:52

05 Small Faces - Me You And Us Too 3:31

06 Fruit Machine - Im Alone Today 3:10

07 Brian Auger - Flesh Failures 3:05

08 Terry Reid - Superlungs My Supergirl 2:42

09 Jason Crest - Black Mass 4:49

10 Open Mind - Magic Potion 3:31

11 Quiet Melon - Diamond Joe 2:28

12 Humble Pie - Wrist Job 4:16

13 Mighty Baby - Same Way From The Sun 5:40

14 Colosseum - Elegy 3:12

15 Blonde On Blonde - Castles In The Sky 3:28

16 Peter Wyngarde - Neville Thumbcatch 4:29

17 Kinks - This Time Tomorrow 3:22

18 Satisfaction - My Fixation (Edit) 3:51

19 Nucleus - Song For The Bearded Lady 7:23

20 Graham Dee - Car Chase 3:05

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