Post by Nigel Lees on Aug 18, 2006 20:17:43 GMT
Hi Friends, its been just over 12 months since 'Alphabeat' was released [still not sure whether it was a long year or a short one] and now I'm pleased to announce the release of the following.....
SHAPES AND SOUNDS - ‘Orange and red beams from the BBC archives 1967 - 1969’
TOP SOUNDS TSLP / TSCD 002
Vinyl £13.49
CD £12.99
LP postage in UK £2.75, CD £1.00 - Europe please add £1.00 to each price. Rest of world please enquire.
Following on from ‘Alphabeat’, Top Sounds is proud to announce the release of a second compilation, on this occasion a delightful selection of choice 60’s rarities from the otherwise largely inaccessible BBC archives. Spanning a period of almost two years, ‘Shapes And Sounds’ offers seventeen performances taped in BBC studios for broadcast not only on the more familiar radio shows such as ‘Top Gear’ and Saturday Club’, but also some of the daytime weekly programmes such as ‘The Dave Cash Programme’. This release, on both LP and CD, features six bands, all of whom will be familiar to collectors of psychedelia and pop of the period, some of which are lauded as being amongst the most rated groups of their time.
For many pride of place will go to Kaleidoscope, as ‘Shapes And Sounds’ features two tracks that are missing from the BBC’s Transcription Service archive and consequently were not included on the ‘Please Listen To The Pictures’ BBC set. Thanks to the recent discovery of a transcription disc, Top Sounds are privileged to complete the jigsaw and offer a choice version of the band’s most contagious single ‘Jenny Artichoke’, as well as a stupendous rendition of the ‘Faintly Blowing’ cut ‘Music’ which is guaranteed to have Kaleidoscope’s legion of followers in ecstacy! Also thought lost and making their debut on record and CD are three splendid tracks by Tomorrow featuring Keith West, sourced from two editions of ‘Top Gear’ in October 1967 and February 1968. Included are excellent renditions of ‘Blow Up’ and ‘Colonel Brown’ but the pick of the bunch is almost certainly ‘Real Life Permanent Dream’, with its overdrive of twisting wah wah guitar throughout from the nimble fingers of Steve Howe. It’s been a while since any fresh music from Timebox was released and ‘Shapes And Sounds’ offers their four remaining session tracks from the Beeb archives, which include a beautiful version of their famed ‘Beggin’, a rendition of ‘Yellow Van’ which most definitely puts the single cut to shame, a superb take of ‘Stay There’ and perhaps most importantly, an admirable slice of blue eyed soul in their cover of the Young Rascals’ ‘A Girl Like You’, which the band never recorded outside of the BBC.
The Montanas’ discography is noted by many as being rather hit and miss but that is most definitely not the case with their inclusions on ‘Shapes And Sounds’, and most will no doubt be surprised and animated by the BBC take of their most prized pop/psych 45 ‘A Step In The Right Direction’. That excellent single was enhanced by a wash of phasing but in this live performance the song is literally drowned in a veritable tidal wave of that glorious wind tunnel effect, whilst ‘You’re never going to get my lovin’ would have made a better choice for a single than some of those that were actually released. The other Montanas performances form something of a Moby Grape tribute, with a cracking rendering of ‘Hey Grandma’ and a blistering attack on ‘Omaha’. Of all these numbers from their repertoire, only ‘A Step In The Right Direction’ ever appeared on a single. Oxfordshire’s Gentle Influence have come to more prominence recently with the inclusion of their popular ‘Easy To Know’ on the ‘Le Beat Bespoke’ compilation and Top Sounds have uncovered a similarly styled nugget with their BBC only cover of Curtis Mayfield’s ‘You’ve Been Cheatin’, as well as a superior version of their final 1969 A’ side ‘Always Be A Part Of My Living’.
And last but my no means least The Spectrum - hitherto not the most rated of 60s bands by some - impress with a fuzz guitar spiked performance of ‘Headin’ For A heatwave’ which is more virile and much more atmospheric than the 45 version, and they enthusiastically rip through a Beeb only take of the Artwoods favourite ‘I Take What I Want’.
The sound quality is absolutely superb throughout, with nearly every track sourced from original BBC Transcription records. The Tomorrow performances have been taken from excellent off air recordings and similarly shine and few of the tracks on the collection needed much enhancement at all, all have nevertheless been professionally restored and mastered. The presentation is immaculate and as with the ‘Alphabeat’ release, Artholeghraphics have designed a memorable period flavoured package. The LP has a sixteen page colour booklet based on a vintage Radio Times (the CD has a twenty four page book) packed with illustrations, band histories and listings of all their known BBC sessions written and supplied by Nigel Lees, author of much of Record Collector magazine’s ‘The British Psychedelic Trip’ series. Except for one of the Montanas recordings being bootlegged many years ago, none of the tracks have ever been commercially available and most have not been heard in public since the 60’s.
All copies are be hand numbered and ‘Shapes And Sounds’ is a legitimate limited edition release, licensed from the BBC with the blessing / co-operation of no less than nineteen band members.
The copies arrived this week and I'm impressed with the results and the culmination of a year's work has reached fruition at last! If anyone has a bias against BBC stuff [and I know some do] then cast aside such fears, this is great stuff and as mentioned above the sound quality is almost unanimously superb throughout! A fine addition to any 60s collection!
My thanks again to everyone who bought 'Alphabeat' and sent nice emails upon reciept, and I sincerely hope you will all be tempted to buy this one too and continue to support the cause. Please email me on how to buy one..........
Check out the new website
topsoundsrecords.co.uk/intro.html
Note on some browsers if the 'enter' button doesn't work the page will automatically load after a few seconds.
Best Wishes to all !
Nigel Lees
Top Sounds Ltd
SHAPES AND SOUNDS - ‘Orange and red beams from the BBC archives 1967 - 1969’
TOP SOUNDS TSLP / TSCD 002
Vinyl £13.49
CD £12.99
LP postage in UK £2.75, CD £1.00 - Europe please add £1.00 to each price. Rest of world please enquire.
Following on from ‘Alphabeat’, Top Sounds is proud to announce the release of a second compilation, on this occasion a delightful selection of choice 60’s rarities from the otherwise largely inaccessible BBC archives. Spanning a period of almost two years, ‘Shapes And Sounds’ offers seventeen performances taped in BBC studios for broadcast not only on the more familiar radio shows such as ‘Top Gear’ and Saturday Club’, but also some of the daytime weekly programmes such as ‘The Dave Cash Programme’. This release, on both LP and CD, features six bands, all of whom will be familiar to collectors of psychedelia and pop of the period, some of which are lauded as being amongst the most rated groups of their time.
For many pride of place will go to Kaleidoscope, as ‘Shapes And Sounds’ features two tracks that are missing from the BBC’s Transcription Service archive and consequently were not included on the ‘Please Listen To The Pictures’ BBC set. Thanks to the recent discovery of a transcription disc, Top Sounds are privileged to complete the jigsaw and offer a choice version of the band’s most contagious single ‘Jenny Artichoke’, as well as a stupendous rendition of the ‘Faintly Blowing’ cut ‘Music’ which is guaranteed to have Kaleidoscope’s legion of followers in ecstacy! Also thought lost and making their debut on record and CD are three splendid tracks by Tomorrow featuring Keith West, sourced from two editions of ‘Top Gear’ in October 1967 and February 1968. Included are excellent renditions of ‘Blow Up’ and ‘Colonel Brown’ but the pick of the bunch is almost certainly ‘Real Life Permanent Dream’, with its overdrive of twisting wah wah guitar throughout from the nimble fingers of Steve Howe. It’s been a while since any fresh music from Timebox was released and ‘Shapes And Sounds’ offers their four remaining session tracks from the Beeb archives, which include a beautiful version of their famed ‘Beggin’, a rendition of ‘Yellow Van’ which most definitely puts the single cut to shame, a superb take of ‘Stay There’ and perhaps most importantly, an admirable slice of blue eyed soul in their cover of the Young Rascals’ ‘A Girl Like You’, which the band never recorded outside of the BBC.
The Montanas’ discography is noted by many as being rather hit and miss but that is most definitely not the case with their inclusions on ‘Shapes And Sounds’, and most will no doubt be surprised and animated by the BBC take of their most prized pop/psych 45 ‘A Step In The Right Direction’. That excellent single was enhanced by a wash of phasing but in this live performance the song is literally drowned in a veritable tidal wave of that glorious wind tunnel effect, whilst ‘You’re never going to get my lovin’ would have made a better choice for a single than some of those that were actually released. The other Montanas performances form something of a Moby Grape tribute, with a cracking rendering of ‘Hey Grandma’ and a blistering attack on ‘Omaha’. Of all these numbers from their repertoire, only ‘A Step In The Right Direction’ ever appeared on a single. Oxfordshire’s Gentle Influence have come to more prominence recently with the inclusion of their popular ‘Easy To Know’ on the ‘Le Beat Bespoke’ compilation and Top Sounds have uncovered a similarly styled nugget with their BBC only cover of Curtis Mayfield’s ‘You’ve Been Cheatin’, as well as a superior version of their final 1969 A’ side ‘Always Be A Part Of My Living’.
And last but my no means least The Spectrum - hitherto not the most rated of 60s bands by some - impress with a fuzz guitar spiked performance of ‘Headin’ For A heatwave’ which is more virile and much more atmospheric than the 45 version, and they enthusiastically rip through a Beeb only take of the Artwoods favourite ‘I Take What I Want’.
The sound quality is absolutely superb throughout, with nearly every track sourced from original BBC Transcription records. The Tomorrow performances have been taken from excellent off air recordings and similarly shine and few of the tracks on the collection needed much enhancement at all, all have nevertheless been professionally restored and mastered. The presentation is immaculate and as with the ‘Alphabeat’ release, Artholeghraphics have designed a memorable period flavoured package. The LP has a sixteen page colour booklet based on a vintage Radio Times (the CD has a twenty four page book) packed with illustrations, band histories and listings of all their known BBC sessions written and supplied by Nigel Lees, author of much of Record Collector magazine’s ‘The British Psychedelic Trip’ series. Except for one of the Montanas recordings being bootlegged many years ago, none of the tracks have ever been commercially available and most have not been heard in public since the 60’s.
All copies are be hand numbered and ‘Shapes And Sounds’ is a legitimate limited edition release, licensed from the BBC with the blessing / co-operation of no less than nineteen band members.
The copies arrived this week and I'm impressed with the results and the culmination of a year's work has reached fruition at last! If anyone has a bias against BBC stuff [and I know some do] then cast aside such fears, this is great stuff and as mentioned above the sound quality is almost unanimously superb throughout! A fine addition to any 60s collection!
My thanks again to everyone who bought 'Alphabeat' and sent nice emails upon reciept, and I sincerely hope you will all be tempted to buy this one too and continue to support the cause. Please email me on how to buy one..........
Check out the new website
topsoundsrecords.co.uk/intro.html
Note on some browsers if the 'enter' button doesn't work the page will automatically load after a few seconds.
Best Wishes to all !
Nigel Lees
Top Sounds Ltd