MOD REVIVAL
VA - Eddie Piller Presents... The Mod Revival [2020] (4 x CDs)
In 1979 as a 15-year-old Eddie Piller was perfectly placed to be at the epicentre of the Mod revival. An inquisitive passion for music, a family connection to Mod royalty the Small Faces, and an attitude that saw him travelling his home city, then the country and then the world to take in the sounds that were emerging.
In the years since, Piller has been a legendary figure within the music industry setting up and continuing to own the ground-breaking Acid Jazz label, signing multi-platinum artists such as Jamiroquai and the Brand New Heavies collaborating on compilations with Martin Freeman and as an award-winning broadcaster even setting up his own Totally Wired Radio station. However, this four CD box set is the first time he has looked back on the movement that was to be his starting point.
Mod is a sixties youth movement originally built on sharp clothes, American soul music and nights on the town, that has never really died. The originals added young British groups to their likes and then moved on, but their influence echoed on through the 1970s in Northern Soul clubs, and in the sixties influenced bands of the pub rock era.
When punk arrived, it was supposed to sweep away the past, but instead the Sex Pistols were covering the Small Faces, the Clash brought in Mod DJ Guy Stevens to produce London’s Calling, Buzzcocks sounded closer to the Hollies than the Ramones and in The Jam’s Paul Weller there was a musical and sartorial nod to the past of The Who, The Beatles and pop art arrows.
Weller had spent the 1970s becoming obsessed by mod and saw punk as having a similar youthful energy to the era he had missed by being born a decade too late.
For others Weller’s style proved an inspiration, and as the Jam broke through in late 1978, they saw a wave of bands follow in their wake, and they themselves influenced others to form their own groups. But there were other things.
In bleak late 70s Britain the glorious optimism of the 1960s looked bright and shiny, and as it was only a decade or so in the past, it was easy to pick up original records, clothes and books for pennies, and as you bought these you met other like-minded souls who did the same. For those a little too young for punk, it was a community of gigs, scooters, clothes, bands and records, and for many it developed on through.
Eddie never stopped being a mod and has a unique perspective having now lived through four decades of being intimately involved in the music that has emerged from the mod scene.
In our four CD box set, and its 2LP edited version Ed guides us through some of his favourite music from the scene. He guides us through a plethora of bands whose influences include The Who, The Kinks and The Jam, to sixties soul and R&B, those with an eye on psychedelia.
The records have a vitality and a certain stylish swagger to them, that marks them out as mod. In the deluxe booklet, Piller has written a 5,000 word note describing what it meant to him and has granted access to his own scrapbooks from his many years of gig-going from which pages and memorabilia are reproduced.
Eddie Piller’s Mod Revival is a personal appraisal from the founder of The Modcast, on what the mod explosion of the late 70s and 80s means to him. It is not only a great listen, but probably the only box set you will ever need on the subject.
4CD boxset by Acid Jazz Records and Modcast founder Eddie Piller’s definitive take on the music of the mod revival. 92 classics, rarities and under-appreciated gems across 4 CD's.
In-depth sleeve note reviewing the history of the scene from Eddie’s unique perspective as a label boss, record producer and ultimately a fan. Complete with unique illustrations of memorabilia from Eddie’s own personal scrapbooks.
In 1979, the film Quadrophenia, which romanticised the original 1960s mod subculture, widened the impact and popularity of the mod revival across the UK. The original mod revival fanzine, Maximum Speed started in 1979 and spawned other home-produced fanzines from then until the mid-to-late 1980s.
PLEASE NOTE: These 4 discs are the official Demon CD releases ripped from my own personal box set and a replacement for the cobbled together version from various different sources that has been doing the rounds for the past few years.
For more classic mod revival tunes check out my previous post and compilation here:
http://butterboycompilations.blogspot.com/2024/03/k-special-va-time-for-action-british.html
Enjoy!
K
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Track lists
CD1
01 The Jam - I Got By in Time 2:06
02 The Jolt - I Can't Wait 4:10
03 The Inmates - Dirty Water 3:01
04 Purple Hearts - Frustration 2:54
05 Teenbeats - Strength of the Nation 2:49
06 The Chords - The British Way of Life 3:33
07 New Hearts - Only a Fool 3:42
08 Speedball - No Survivors 3:32
09 The Circles - Opening Up 3:12
10 Back to Zero - Your Side of Heaven 2:37
11 The Cigarettes - They're Back Again, Here They Come 3:30
12 The Users - Kicks in Style 2:01
13 Long Tall Shorty - Falling for You 2:14
14 Beggar - Don't Throw Away Your Life 2:32
15 The Mods - One of the Boys 2:32
16 The Nips - Gabrielle 3:35
17 The Fixations - No Way Out 2:44
18 Untamed Youth - Untamed Youth 3:34
19 The Leepers - Paint a Day 3:11
20 Terry Tonik - Just a Little Mod 3:29
21 The Accidents - Blood Spattered with Guitars 3:50
22 The Two-Tone Pinks - Look But Don't Touch 2:22
23 Les Elite - Get a Job 2:28
CD2
01 Secret Affair - Let Your Heart Dance 3:01
02 The Step - Let Me Be the One 3:01
03 Small Hours - Can't Do Without You 3:27
04 Dexys Midnight Runners - Dance Stance 3:40
05 The Bureau - Let Him Have It 3:14
06 Nine Below Zero - Pack Fair & Square 2:35
07 Madness - The Prince 3:21
08 The Akrylyx - Smart Boy 4:15
09 The Media - South Coast City Rockers 3:22
10 Dolly Mixture - New Look Baby 2:10
11 Squire - Does Stephanie Know? 2:46
12 The Little Roosters - I Need a Witness 2:42
13 The Directions - Three Bands Tonite 3:51
14 The Lambrettas - Go Steady 2:55
15 The Merton Parkas - Flat 19 3:13
16 Hidden Charms - Run for Your Money 3:15
17 The Crooks - Modern Boys 2:49
18 The Name - Fuck Art Let's Dance 2:43
19 The Reaction - I Can't Resist 2:14
20 The Killermeters - Why Should It Happen to Me 3:25
21 The Colours - The Dance 2:53
22 The Sets - Life on an L.I. 2:30
23 The Donkeys - What I Want 2:24
CD3
01 The Long Ryders - Looking for Lewis and Clark 3:11
02 Scarlet Party - 101 Dam-Nations 3:37
03 Mood Six - Hanging Around 3:20
04 The Onlookers - You and I 2:48
05 The Same - Movements 3:45
06 The Times - I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape 2:55
07 The Prisoners - The More That I Teach You 3:25
08 The V.I.P.'s - The Quarter Moon 3:01
09 The Scene - Something That You Said 2:25
10 Solid State - Train to London Town 3:34
11 Small World - Love Is Dead 3:07
12 Sema 4 - Up Down and Around 3:56
13 The Variations - Fight Back 3:43
14 007 - Can You See Me 2:57
15 The Gents - The Faker 3:31
16 The Amber Squad - Can We Go Dancing? 2:35
17 The Direct Hits - Dr Ben 2:39
18 The Heartbeats - Go 2:59
19 The Clues - No Vacancies 3:17
20 The Risk - Good Together 2:41
21 Little Murders - She Lets Me Know 2:42
22 The Kick - Stuck on the Edge of a Blade 2:08
23 Statuto - Rabbia&Stile 2:43
CD4
01 The Truth - Confusion (Hits Us Every Time) 3:03
02 Inspiral Carpets - Saturn 5 3:56
03 Ocean Colour Scene - The Day We Caught the Train 3:13
04 The Untouchables - Free Yourself 3:39
05 Makin' Time - Here Is My Number 2:50
06 The Reflection A.O.B. - All I Want to Be 3:52
07 Five Thirty - Abstain! 3:01
08 James Taylor Quartet - One Way Street 2:20
09 The Daggermen - Ivor the Engine Driver 2:11
10 The Moment - Sticks & Stones 3:18
11 The Blades - Revelations of Heartbreak 3:34
12 Fast Eddie - Shake a Tail Feather 2:17
13 Corduroy - E Type 5:07
14 Mother Earth - Stoned Woman 5:08
15 The Clique - Wormin' 2:38
16 The Rage - Come With the Ones That You Know 4:28
17 Strangeways - All the Sounds of Fear 3:26
18 The Studio 68! - The Other Me 3:39
19 Dance Stance - The Other Side of Paradise 3:52
20 Stupidity - Bend Don't Break 3:53
21 The E-Types! - She Changes 2:59
22 The Mads - The Mods Are Back in Town 2:03
23 The Elements - Caught in a Storm 3:16
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I have to admit I missed this time. I was in NYC working hard with my head down. The radio stations I played did not pick up on this era and I will now spend time listening to what I missed. Thanks K
ReplyDeleteHi BB
I know absolutely NONE of these bands. That won't stop me from downloading this.
ReplyDeleteThanks again K & BB another addition to the collection
ReplyDeleteso sick!
ReplyDeleteTHANKS!!!
Aw man, Thanks so much BB, this is magnificent. Much appreciated!! SPx
ReplyDeleteAs a Mod from that era ( if it's in your 'soul' can you ever stop being Mod?), Pillar's collection does cover just about all the notable bands from the first revival albeit it is a bit light on the R&B side (Dr. Feelgood, Red Beans & Rice, Count Bishops, Cannibals, Blast Furnace), omits bands such as 'The Low Numbers', Boyfriends, Jags, Vapors and 'M.O.D.' and ignores Elvis Costello's (I always considered him within the Mod musical realm) dedicated album to sixties soul , that being 'Get Happy'. Furthermore the absence of all bar Madness of the Two Tone Label bands (eg Specials, The Beat, Selecter, Bodysnatchers etc), whose early concerts were filled with Mods under represents that branch of the revival.
ReplyDeleteEqually and presumably this was down to copyright issues many of the choices do not, to me, represent the best of the genre. Starting with the Jam , 'When You're Young' or 'Away From The Numbers' would be far better choices, 'Millions Like Us' from the Purple Hearts, 'Maybe Tomorrow' by the Chords, 'Glory Boys' by Secret Affair and either 'Walking Down the Kings Road' or 'Its A Mod Mod World' by Squire and that's just the most well known bands.
Equally the fourth CD bites off far more than it can chew by attempting to then cover the subsequent era not least by omitting the reincarnation of Paul Weller as a solo artist ('Into Tomorrow' should be the first or perhaps last track on the 4th CD). Add to that that many of the Brit-pop bands from Oasis to Blur had Mod influences, not just Ocean Colour Scene as well as overlooking many of the later 'Mod' Bands (eg Strypes, Eleanor Rigby, Holly Golightly, Revolving Paint Dream, Small World, The Odd Numbers etc etc) and this collection is by no means the last word on the subject but more an excellent introduction to the genre which perhaps should have limited itself to the first 5 or so years of its return and which continues even now (eg Brighton still holds Mod Weekenders every summer).
All that said it is still an excellent collection and well worth a listen. Hopefully Pillar might decide to revisit it and produce a second volume as there is plenty more great 'Mod Renaissance' music to be sampled.
PS And Quadrophenia hardly romanticises what being a mod was. On the contrary it rather puts, in a pretty realistic way, (I did Brighton and elsewhere in my youth too) what it meant to be a Mod into the context of life (ie not that important). One only has to consider the 'Ace Face / Bellboy' and Jimmy's decision at the end of the film to realise that.
Fantastic! Thank you. KTF
ReplyDelete