Regal Zonophone 2
A new volume following on from '17 From Morden'.
Check the Top Sounds list page below and dig the content samples on the embedded video. Sounds like a great comp.
PM
https://topsoundsrecords.co.uk/Morden-Wimbledon.html
:grinning:
This looks very cool. Thanks for the tip!
I keep forgetting to visit this site... It's good to see your name again, Paul. I was actually chatting with someone yesterday about your wonderful PopCycles comps - good times!
I can vouch for the quality of the Morden comp - it's absolutely brilliant! Nigel and Top Sounds never disappoint.
Hi Bard, glad to see you back! Yes, wierd how those Pop Cycles still crop up in conversation after all these years!
Paul:smile:
Yep, onto this one.
Hello Bard,nice to see you visit here,hello Paul,it was myself who was discussing your popcycles comps.
Yes the new Top Sounds collection is good,it just shows you there is still undiscovered wee gems out there to be found,i got the cd,which as usual with those releases is informative,and gives information when its found,obviously with a release like this,there are tracks with no or very little information,even on tape boxes,or the companies filing records....so there are a few unknown groups,which is always a shame as it would be good for those(many who may not still be here)who recorded them to be recognised as such,but Nigel does his upmost to find any snippets of information,and sometimes he doesnt have that,so hats of for another cracking search and finding so many little beauties ,trawling through tapes,logs,filings from over 50 years ago,it must be a very interesting,but frustrating endeavor at times to be doing this,but the joy and excitement to come across an unknown piece of music magic,must be rewarding,because as a listener,i too get excited with archival releases like this,not knowing whats coming next,but you ALWAYS get those gems that just jump out while spinning the cd or record,this is one of those releases,ok some songs are ok,but others for me can stand head and shoulders above.....i already have my favourites,those eureka moments from this cd......where once the cd was finished,i went back to relisten,and relisten to those certain tracks.im going to be fair and NOT tell you which ones i found fabulous and to my ears superior.........i don't want to spoil your initial listening pleasure,and discovering your eureka moments......but REMEMBER many of those tracks are not recorded with a big budget,this is mainly local and as the liners state "budding hopefuls" having a chance to put music down on tape and onto an acetate,and some did succeed in getting 45 releases on Oak ,but many only got as far as an acetate.Kudos to the late great RG Jones and the staff at his Morden studios,who gave young unknown groups a chance to have the excitement of entering a studio,and recording their songs and sounds,studios like this were very important at this time for the development of many musicians getting the experience of getting an idea of the recording process,but also for studio staff to gain experience in this still rather new and developing and changing idiom.
For anyone into late 60s music,whether it be psychedelia,mod gone odd,late beat pounders or pop......this is a MUST HAVE.If you enjoyed the Psychedelic Schlemiels cd series from Dave Wells Wooden Hill cd outlet years ago,WILL enjoy this!!!!
Hi Stuart, nice to see you posting again. Yes, the Psychedelic Schlemials series was very good, a real local scene history in those. looking forward to hearing Morden to Wimbledon now.
PM:wink:
Shame Brexit... I've got most Top Sounds CDs in the past... now is notmorepossible unless I find a cheap copy here in EU :zipper_mouth_face:
Just want to express my admiration and gratitude for this release. A UK psych comp of all unheard tunes is an extinct species, so for those of us whose love of UK psych evolved through comps such as Choc Soup, Rubble and Perfumed Garden this is a waking dream.
While these bands didn't have the benefit of huge studio budgets and high production values, I think it gives these tunes an honesty and rawness that creates a unique astmosphere and allows us to somehow get closer to the fertilizastion of the British psychedelic egg. There are some genuine classics here too, some that would be at the top of the league for collectors had they been released on 45. But they weren't, they only semi-existed in the shady netherworld of acetates, one or two-off recordings that wear and damage so easily, by rights none of them should have survived. And they would have been lost forever.
This comes across as a real labour of love from a genuine enthusiast. The sound quality is amazing and a lot of work must have gone into restoring these recordings. Also, as with all Top Sounds stuff, it is so well designed and made, it looks like a work of art entirely in keeping with the era it celebrates. I also think whoever shared the acetates needs celebrating, this stuff could be sat on by hoarding collectors while gathering dust only to be dumped in a skip when the grim reaper comes knocking. These have been generously shared, and for that we should all be very grateful.
Praise be to Top Sounds and please, if there is any more, keep them coming.
Here, here to all that H45 (much affirmative fist thumping on desk). Both Tinsel Arcade titles are equal to The Tickle or One In A Million rarities , real jewels, whilst the first Unknown Artist side 'Little Red House' would be a prize possession of any Mod DJ, its grooviness and late flowering dancability make it a no brainer for a Mousetrap dancefloor. Everything else on this set is also really enjoyable. The 'tried my hardest' type of lyrics on The Phaze's 'Long Hair Dirty Shoes' blend linguistic naivety and a sub-cultural assertion of identity so that you're not quite sure if this is a Bonzo Dog Band type piss-take or a genuine youthful attempt at expressing a sideways comment on straight society. I'm going to immerse myself in the (as usual) substantial accompanying booklet today. Really well done Nigel and whoever owns those Oak acettes, many, many thanks for sharing. Is it too much to hope for a third installment???
PM:slightly_smiling_face:
Hi Paul, thank you for your kind comments, and the same salutations to Stuart and Lewis at Hapening45 for their wonderful appreciations of the album. Whilst there is more OAK stuff unreleased (quite a lot actually) it would be difficult to theme a third OAK comp and keep up the quality of the two I've done. But there will be stray OAK titles on future comps, so watch this space as they say.
Thank you again all
Cheers!
Nigel
Good to know you'll be doing more comps Nigel. Having played Morden to Wimbledon again, I realise I got my Tinsel Arcades mixed up! It is indeed their second offering'Life Does Not Seem What it Seems' that is the psych fest. Thier first offering 'Baby You've Got it' is a freakbeat keeper that sits well next to 'Little Red House' as a modernist floor filler. Listening to The Phaze's second offering 'The Other Side' (not The Apple track) reminds the listener strongly of The Game's 'The Addicted Man'. Lastly, the CD only 'unknown Artist' five minute long track 16 'Take Your Love Away From Me' sounds like an in development song by Ten Years After. It's a Wonderful comp all round anyway.
PM:slightly_smiling_face: