VA - Life Too, Has Surface Noise, The Complete Dandelion Records [2006] (3 x CDs)

JOHN PEEL

VA - Life Too, Has Surface Noise, The Complete Dandelion Records [2006] (3 x CDs)

Between 1969 and 1972, DJ John Peel's Dandelion label established itself as one of the most enterprising, if sadly under-achieving indies on the U.K. scene, a plucky little enterprise whose key signings -- Medicine Head, Bridget Saint John, Kevin Coyne and Tractor -- were unanimously adored by the media -- and completely overlooked by the record-buying public.

Well, not completely. Medicine Head's third Dandelion single, "(And The) Pictures in the Sky" was a memorable U.K. hit, and set the stage for the duo's own subsequent success. It did little for Dandelion's profile, however, which was bad news for the label, but great for collectors. Inexorably over the past 30 years, Dandelion has crept up the "most collectible British labels" listings, to the point where, today, it is as fondly remembered as any Immediate, Stiff or Factory. And, like those concerns, it has now been anthologized with a care and attention that cannot help but make converts out of even more listeners.

Across three discs, John Peel's Dandelion serves up the label's complete singles output, thirty-three 7"s that range from the folky poetry of Beau to the shattered rock of the ailing Gene Vincent, and onto the cosmic madness of comedian Bill Oddie, possibly the only man who ever wondered what would happen if you clashed Joe Cocker's reading of "With a Little Help from My Friends" with the old Yorkshire folk song "On Ilkla Moor Baht'at." Not every Dandelion disc was as inspired as Oddie's; some (Lol Coxhill's "Pretty Little Girl," the Yamasukis' "Yamasuki") were simply odd. Indeed, it took the label three years before the U.K. music paper Sounds finally acclaimed one of its releases "obviously commercial" -- and, by then, it was almost all over. Clifford T. Ward's "Carrie" was one of the final 45s the label ever released.

Beautifully packaged and annotated, John Peel's Dandelion is a spellbinding collection and, if you have any interest in the British underground of the very early '70s, it's also one of the most important compilations around. Because, even if you're not thrilled by every song, the guiding spirit that held so many disparate acts together are felt across every one of them. (AMG review by Dave Thompson)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Beau - 1917 Revolution 4:21

02 Beau - Sleeping Town 3:08

03 Bridget St. John - To B Without A Hitch 3:07

04 Bridget St. John - Autumn Lullaby 3:00

05 Principal Edwards Magic Theatre - Ballad (Of The Big Girl Now And A Mere Boy) 2:42

06 Principal Edwards Magic Theatre - Lament For The Earth 4:51

07 Clague - Mandy Lee 2:02

08 Clague - Bottle Up And Go 3:12

09 Clague - The Stride 2:39

10 Clague - I Wonder Where 5:10

11 Gene Vincent - Be-Bop-A -Lula '69 2:39

12 Gene Vincent - Ruby Baby 2:51

13 Medicine Head - His Guiding Hand 4:03

14 Medicine Head - This Love Of Old 3:15

15 Mike Hart - Yawney Morning Song 2:46

16 Mike Hart - Almost Liverpool 8 4:46

17 Bill Oddie - On Ilkla Moor Baht'at 3:56

18 Bill Oddie - Krishna, Harry 1:40

19 Gene Vincent - White Lightening 2:44

20 Gene Vincent - Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) 3:12

21 Medicine Head - Coast To Coast (& Shore To Shore) 2:34

22 Medicine Head - All For Tomorrow 3:00

CD2

01 Stackwaddy - Roadrunner 3:27

02 Stackwaddy - Kentucky 2:44

03 Bridget St. John - If You've Got Money 3:31

04 Bridget St. John - Yep 2:46

05 Principal Edwards Magic Theatre - The Asmoto Running Band 3:10

06 Stackwaddy - Mothballs 3:38

07 Siren - Lonesome Ride 2:21

08 Way We Live - King Dick Ii 3:17

09 Siren - Strange Locomotion 2:57

10 Siren - I'm All Aching 3:04

11 Medicine Head - (And The) Pictures In The Sky 2:36

12 Medicine Head - Natural Sight 2:36

13 Yamasukis - Yamasuki 3:03

14 Yamasukis - Aieaoa 2:40

15 Coxhill; Bedford Duo - Pretty Little Girl, Pt. 1 2:33

16 Coxhill; Bedford Duo - Pretty Little Girl, Pt. 2 2:34

17 Medicine Head - Kum On 3:37

18 Medicine Head - On The Land 3:25

19 Bridget St. John - Fly High 3:22

20 Bridget St. John - There's A Place I Know 2:38

21 Bridget St. John - Suzanne 5:30

CD3

01 Will Dandy - Sonny Boy/Oh Mein Papa 2:58

02 Coxhill; Bedford Duo - Mood 3:31

03 Supersister - No Tree Will Grow 7:37

04 Supersister - She Was Naked 3:45

05 Tractor - Stoney Glory 3:10

06 Tractor - Marie 3:58

07 Tractor - As You Say 4:16

08 Medicine Head - Only To Do What Is True 2:35

09 Medicine Head - Sittin' In The Sun 3:04

10 Stackwaddy - You Really Got Me 2:40

11 Stackwaddy - Willie The Pimp 4:08

12 Kevin Coyne - Cheat Me 3:14

13 Kevin Coyne - Flowering Chery 2:45

14 Clifford T. Ward - Carrie 4:27

15 Clifford T. Ward - Sidetracked 3:22

16 Bridget St. John - Nice 3:22

17 Bridget St. John - Goodbye Goodbye 2:08

18 Medicine Head - How Does It Feel 3:11

19 Medicine Head - Morning Light 5:11

20 Clifford T. Ward - Coathanger 2:49

21 Clifford T. Ward - Rayne 3:10

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