By any estimation, 1966 was a pivotal year in rock. On one side of the Atlantic: Pet Sounds, Blonde on Blonde, Sounds of Silence. On the other: Revolver, Fresh Cream, Aftermath. Those albums merely represent the tip of the iceberg, however. 1966 was a year in which psychedelia emerged from the fringes and onto the charts via such artists as The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, and yes, The Beatles with "Tomorrow Never Knows." The underground scene continued to grow and increasingly attract the
Though The Creation only left behind roughly a couple dozen songs during their mid-'60s heyday, the story of the hard-rocking mods actually goes back further, and extends to decades later. Earlier this year, the U.S. label Numero Group presented 46 masters, alternates and remixes on a double-disc collection entitled Action Painting. Shortly thereafter, U.K. label Edsel unveiled an even more thorough presentation of the complete Creation story containing those 46 tracks and 33
An advertisement reprinted in Ace Records' splendid new collection Making Time: A Shel Talmy Production reads, "Artistes Shel Talmy Has Recorded: The Kinks, The Bachelors, The Who, Chad and Jeremy" and so on. Add to that list Manfred Mann, The Creation, The Fortunes, Trini Lopez, Lee Hazlewood, and a certain David Bowie, and you have an idea of the scope of this first-of-its-kind collection dedicated to the work of the producer-engineer-impresario. Though born in Chicago, Talmy made his name
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Grateful Dead, Cornell 5/8/77 (Grateful Dead/Rhino) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Rhino teams with the Grateful Dead for the first authorized release of one of the band's most famous concert bootlegs: the Cornell 5/8/77 show. The bootleg recording of this show was so significant that it was added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2011. This 3-CD set ties in with a new book about the oft-discussed concert;
With the release of the double-disc anthology Action Painting, Chicago's Numero Group has provided the most lavish collection yet for the little-known sixties British rockers The Creation. Surely this set will go a long way in cementing the legacy of the group. Though The Creation left behind roughly a couple dozen core songs - expanded to 46 tracks for this collection, via various mixes, alternates, backing tracks, and recordings by early outfit The Mark Four - the band epitomized the hard
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! The Zombies, Odessey and Oracle: 50th Anniversary Edition (Varese Vintage) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) It's the time of the season! Varese has a new edition of The Zombies' 1968 classic, freshly remastered at d2 Mastering and with seven bonus tracks as well as new liner notes by co-producer Andrew Sandoval and rare photographs. The bonuses comprise the mono mix of "I'll Call You Mine" and "I Want Her She Wants Me;" alternate
Numero Group is turning back the clock to the days of The British Invasion. On March 17, the feisty Chicago indie continues its musical archaeology with a 2-CD or 2-LP set dedicated to the studio recordings of The Creation. Action Painting features 46 original tracks recorded between 1965 and 1968, all newly remastered by producer Shel Talmy (The Who, The Kinks) from the original master tapes, and in new stereo mixes where possible. Over the brief period of 1966-1968, The Creation released