An upcoming release and I Love To See You Strut – More ’60s Mod, RNB, Brit Soul and Freakbeat Nuggets sounds a winner.
Of course, it does. This is a Cherry Red box set and more often than not, that’s a guarantee of quality. Their umbrella of labels puts out some amazing reissues and compilations and has done for many years. And on the face of it, this is very much in line with the rest.
It’s a sequel of sorts, the follow up to the Halcyon Days 60s Mod, R&B, Brit Soul and Freakbeat box set from about a year ago, which is still available should you want a copy.
It’s also in the same tradition as other past Mod boxes such as Looking Back, Keep Lookin’, Looking Stateside and Night Comes Down if you want to investigate those too.
Or plan ahead for this one, which is now available to pre-order for early next year. Which isn’t as far away as you think it is.
The basis of the box is simple. It’s a three-disc set that celebrates ‘Mod-friendly 1960’s beat music’ with disc one focussing on club-based sounds, disc two on ‘Mod legends’ and disc three’s ‘groovier, more heavy and psychedelic’ acts. So beat-based Mod sounds across the spectrum.
Yes, that means you might have a few of the tracks here. But it does have a few tunes to tempt you in regardless, such as previously unissued Mod RnB tracks from The Fingers, The SW4 and The Trendbender Band plus ‘first legal time on CD’ Mod RnB, Soul and Freakbeat rarities from The Profile, The Athenians, Laris McLennon and The Scots of St James as well as a rare version of The Moody Blues’ ‘I’ll Go Crazy’ that was not issued in the UK.
Disc One includes Georgie Fame’s Hammond-led version of Stax classic ‘Last Night’, the ‘horn-laden soul’ from Jimmy James And The Vagabonds and Geno Washington And The Ram Jam Band, ‘swinging Mod Jazz’ from Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band and ‘tough RnB’ from Manfred Mann.
Disc Two features the likes of The Who and Small Faces and ‘fuzz-drenched stompers’ from The Pretty Things, The Artwoods and The Downliners Sect. Disc three goes more down the psych route with tracks from Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger And The Trinity, The Easybeats (with Steve Marriott on backing vocals) and Steve Ellis.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg as the set also features The Yardbirds, The Kinks, The Zombies, Dusty Springfield, The Move, The Koobas, The Action and The Creation plus an early single B-side from future legend David Bowie and early recordings from Jimmy Page playing the harmonica with Mickey Finn And The Blue Men, Jeff Beck playing the guitar in The Yardbirds, and future Cream members Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker on bass and drums in The Graham Bond Organisation.
From Miki Dallon’s Go label there are Freakbeat rarities from The Drag Set and The Scots of St James while producer Mike Hurst’s archives provide ‘groovy Brit soul’ from Chris Rayburn and Mod youths The Favourite Sons playing Tamla Motown their way.
Quite the set, with 85 tracks in total and likely some tasty sleevenotes too, as is often the case with these boxes.
We are being spoilt a bit with Mod boxes early next year with Eddie Piller presents British Mod Sounds of the 1960s already being announced. But if there’s room in your collection and budget for this, it looks well worth picking up.
The release date is 25th February 2022 and the price of the three-disc set is £22.99.
Find out more at the Rough Trade website
Track Listing:
DISC ONE:
1 Dusty Springfield – Live It Up
2 Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames – Last Night
3 Jimmy James And The Vagabonds – Ain’t Love Good, Ain’t Love Proud
4 Geno Washington – (I Gotta) Hold On To My Love
5. Herbie Goins And The Nightimers – Coming Home To You
6. Carl Douglas – Something For Nothing
7 The Chants – Baby I Don’t Need Your Love
8 VIPs – Straight Down To The Bottom
9 Chris Farlowe – Voodoo
10 Manfred Mann – What You Gonna Do?
11 Graham Bond Organisation – Harmonica (from Gonks Go Beat)
12 Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band – The Cat
13 Dr K’s Blues Band – Messin’ With The Kid
14 Bo Street Runners – Tell Me What You’re Gonna Do
15 The Moody Blues – I’ll Go Crazy (Canadian mono version)
16 The ’Takers (The Undertakers) – Think
17 The All Night Workers – Tell Daddy
18 Wynder K Frog – Turn On Your Lovelight
19 Johnny And John – Bumper To Bumper
20 Phillip Goodhand Tait – What More Do You Want
21 The Trendbender Band – Unchain My Heart (previously unreleased)
22 The Fingers – Something You Got (previously unreleased)
23 Laris McLennon – Turn Me Loose
24 Ronnie Jones – I’m So Clean
25 Jimmy Royal And The Hawks – I’m Leaving You
26 David John And The Mood – I Love To See You Strut
27 The Athenians – I’m A Lover Not A Fighter
28 The SW4 – No Matter What You Do (previously unreleased)
29 Mickey Finn And The Blue Men – I Still Want You
DISC TWO:
1 The Who – Run, Run, Run (mono version)
2 Small Faces – Come On Children (French EP version)
3 The Pretty Things – Come See Me
4 The Kinks – I Need You
5The Downliners Sect – All Night Worker
6 The Artwoods – I Feel Good
7 The Zombies – Is This The Dream
8 Tony Colton – You’re Wrong There Baby
9 The Animals – See See Rider
10 The Untamed – I’m Going Out Tonight
11 David Bowie – Good Morning Girl
12 The Riot Squad – Working Man
13 The Scots Of St James – Tic Toc
14 The Eyes – You’re Too Much
15 The Herd – This Boy’s Always Been True
16 The Koobas – Face
17 The Alan Bown Set – I Really Really Care
18 The Yardbirds – He’s Always There (Alternate version)
19 The Misunderstood – Find The Hidden Door (IBC Acetate)
20 The Voice – The Train To Disaster
21 The Drag Set – Day And Night
22 The Mirage – Gone To Your Head
23 The Profile- Got To Find A Way
24 The Mike Cotton Sound – Make Up Your Mind
25 The Timebox – Walking Through The Streets Of My Mind
26 The Favourite Sons – First I Look At The Purse
27 The Uprooted – Mary
28 Belfast Gypsies – Hey Gyp Dig The Slowness
29 Ray Hoff and The Offbeats – Tossin’ And Turnin’
30 Colin Cook – Riot In Cell Block Number 9
DISC THREE:
1 Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and The Trinity – Indian Rope Man
2 The Easybeats – Good Times
3 Georgie Fame – No Thanks
4 Steve Ellis – Loot (from the film Loot)
5 Tammy St John – Concerning Love
6 Jimmy Thomas – (We Ain’t Here Looking For) No Trouble
7 Chris Rayburn – One Way Ticket
8 Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera – Flames (single version)
9 Eric Burdon and The Animals – Ain’t That So
10 The Move – Move
11 The Creation – Through My Eyes
12 John’s Children – Mustang Ford
13 The Action – Follow Me
14 Fire – Will I Find Love?
15 Plastic Penny – It’s A Good Thing (mono)
16 The Ministry Of Sound – I’m Coming Home
17 The Spencer Davis Group – Possession (1967 soundtrack sessions)
18 The Remo Four – Sing Hallelujah
19 Don Fardon – (In The) Dreamin’ Room
20 Spooky Tooth – Love Really Changed Me
21 Fleur De Lys – Liar
22 Terry Reid – Superlungs, My Supergirl
23 The Foundations – I’m Gonna Be A Rich Man
24 The Tremeloes – Instant Whip
25 The Birds – Dust In My Pants
26 Linda Hoyle – Black Crow
