The Dylans - Spirit Finger

 

The band was formed in early 1990 by former 1,000 Violins guitarist, songwriter, and occasional singer Colin Gregory, now on bass guitar, Jim Rodger (guitar), and Andy Curtis (guitar). They soon recruited Quentin Jennings (keyboards) and Garry Jones (drums), continuing 1,000 Volins sixties-tinged retro style, but with a nod to the "baggy" scene of the time. The band were signed to Beggars Banquet Records' "indie" subsidiary Situation Two (RCA Records in the United States), who released their debut single, "Godlike" in January 1991, which reached the top 10 of the UK Indie Chart.^[2] They subsequently replaced Curtis with Andy Cook, and released follow-up singles "Lemon Afternoon" and "Planet Love", before the band's Stephen Street-produced self-titled debut album was released in October 1991. After extensive touring, the band returned in 1992 with the "Mary Quant in Blue" single, but further line-up changes ensued, with Jones and Jennings leaving, to be replaced by Craig Scott and Ike Glover. With interest in the band growing in the United States, the band were signed to Atlantic Records, moving to the main Beggars Banquet roster in the UK for subsequent releases. Two further singles were followed by the band's swansong 1994 album, Spirit Finger. In the face of disappointing sales, the band split later that year.

Get it:HERE

THE LA's - THE LA'S

When the La's released their debut album in 1990, it made immediate waves in the British pop scene, as well as American college radio. Drawing from the hook-laden, ringing guitars of mid-'60s British pop as well as the post-punk pop of the Smiths, the La's' self-titled first album had a timeless, classic feel. It seemed like effortless music, yet that was not the case. From their inception in 1986, lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Lee Mavers was a perfectionist with a nearly obsessive eye for detail. Consequently, the La's were never able to totally fulfill their promise.

Mavers formed the group in Liverpool with bassist John Power, guitarist Paul Hemmings, and drummer John Timson. On the strength of their demo tapes, Go! Discs signed the band in 1987, releasing the single "Way Out"; it received good reviews, yet it wasn't a chart success. Similarly, the following year's "There She Goes" received good press yet stalled on the charts. With a new lineup featuring bassist James Joyce, guitarist Cammy (born Peter James Camell), and Lee's brother Neil on drums, the La's began recording their debut album that same year. The record didn't appear until 1990. Even though Mavers claimed it was rush released, the Steve Lillywhite-produced The La's received glowing reviews and strong sales; a re-released "There She Goes" entered the U.K. Top 20 and hit number 49 in America. For most of 1991, the band was on tour. At the end of the year, they went back to the studio to record their follow-up. This time, Mavers was in complete control and he took his time to perfect the album, re-recording tracks and rewriting songs. The La's disappeared without a trace from the pop music scene. Mavers and a reconstituted band resurfaced in the spring of 1995, playing a handful of supporting concerts that featured a couple of new songs.

Get It: HERE

The Girls of Texas 60's - Various Artists

The best known girl group in Texas during the late 60's was The Heart Beats of Lubbock who are included on this album, along with other great female led bands and that is unfortunately the extent of what I know about this album, but it really is worth a listen!

1. [02:19] The Heartbeats – Crying Inside
2. [02:44] The Heartbeats – Poor Side Of Town
3. [02:36] The Brazen Hussies – Climbing The Wall
4. [02:12] Kay Gramm & The Bandettes – Cross My Heart
5. [03:07] Leisha Brodie – Cross My Heart
6. [06:14] Lou Ann Barton – I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home
7. [05:22] Lou Ann Barton – He’s Gotta Use His Head (To Turn Me On)
8. [03:15] The Heartbeats – Choo Choo Train
9. [02:08] The Heartbeats – Little Latin Lupe Lu
10. [02:34] The Bombshells – Treat Her Right
11. [02:24] The Brazen Hussies – Imitation Me
12. [02:03] The Bad Girls – Santa’s Got A Brand New Bag
13. [02:02] The Baxterettes – Why Oh Why Does Barbara Cry
14. [02:18] Friday & The Girls – An Older Boy 

Get it: HERE

THE LOOP - ALBUM RELEASE 23rd January 2012 (MOD/ POWER POP)

Releasing their second album "Shame" today, another band blowing the bloody doors off the little shop of audible wonders is The Loop from Cambridge, a band with a great bunch of songs to make your feet tap prior to your whole body leaping up and dancing around wherever you are! 

 

 The Loop are: Martin Holt - Guitars, Vocals, Darren Day - Drums, Vocals, Steve Wilson - Bass Guitars

 

Formed in the Summer of 2003 The Loop have steadily established themselves as a no-frills guitar based power trio playing gutsy, melodic, powerful songs with a simplistic ‘in yer face’ approach. Martin draws on life experiences when writing the songs and refuses to envelop them in sugary, stereotypical coatings for the masses to conform. Darren & Jamie provide the tight driving force behind this unique, refreshing and energetic collaboration.

The band was developed with a simple ethos in mind: "We've all chased the dream before, we have paid our dues many times over. We would love to turn professional but, we are realistic (not cynical!) and enjoy what we do but our friendship and families come first." 

With debut Album ‘Game Over’ available from I-tunes and ‘the difficult’ 2nd Album ‘Shame’ getting glowing reviews prior to it’s release The Loop are looking to steadily claim more converts by gigging extensively. Keep an eye out and catch them when you can. 

"As British as the river Thames!"

 This band are being raved about just about everywhere I look right now, Mod Radio UK to Glory Boy Radio, to name a couple of places, don't miss out on them, that would be an absolute crime!!!

You can contact The Loop on FACEBOOK and at their MYSPACE page and you can purchase the new album on Itunes or you can order a physical copy of the album at DETOUR RECORDS

Squire - Get Smart! - 1983

 

Somewhere between the delicate power pop of Shoes and the classy British pop of mid-period Jam sits the wonderful world of Squire. No, not Billy "The Stroke" Squier. This is Squire, the groovy mod trio fronted by Anthony Meynell, one of pop music's unsung heroes. Spanning the years 1980-1984, this exceptional compilation concentrates on the latter half of the band's career, and contains almost their entire Get Smart album. By this point in the band's career, Meynell had tired of the musical restrictions that the mod scene had thrust upon him. Adding more overdubs in the studio (including a horn section), Meynell created some of the brightest, most exhilarating, guitar-based pop music of the early '80s. Sidestepping such influences as the Who and the Kinks, and embracing Lennon's edge from the Beatles ("No Time Tomorrow"), and the bright, sunny vibe from the Monkees ("Standing In The Rain"), Squire did not create disposable pop, they created timeless pop. Many of these tracks could have been released in the mid-'60s or even in the early '90s at the height of Brit-pop. "Every Trick In The Book Of Love," "You're the One," "My Mind Goes Round In Circles," "Girl On A Train," "Stop That Girl," and "Take A Look" are nothing less than perfect pop songs. When Meynell puts down his pen and records a cover version (including Shoes' "Boys Don't Lie" and Big Star's "September Gurls"), the results are nothing less than Squire-like. Sadly, the only low point on this disc is the A-side of their fan club-only final single, "The Young Idea," which, strangely enough, was probably considered a high point when first released! Mod and power pop fans should keep their eyes peeled for this gem of a CD. It's worth the hype! -AMG

Available at itunes

The Who - Sell Out (Deluxe Edition)

The Who Sell Out was given a deluxe reissue in 1995, a reissue that greatly expanded upon the original 13-track album, adding a plethora of outtakes -- some heavily bootlegged -- and rejected jingles to the end of the album proper. That 1995 reissue seemed to mine the vaults pretty thoroughly, removing the need for another expanded reissue, especially not one as lengthy as this 2009 double-disc expansion. In a certain sense that's true, as there's not a whole lot of previously unreleased material among these 53 tracks: there's a rather excellent, snappy studio take on "Summertime Blues," a full version of "Premier Drums," an instrumental called "Sodding About" that could function as the introduction to "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (and was indeed planned as part of a rejected instrumental EP with that track), and a tighter yet inferior remake of "Rael 1 & 2," plus a few scattered jingles on the first disc, while the second has a stereo demo of "Relax" that's quite different, and a stereo "Glittering Girl," along with alternate mixes that are rare enough to seem previously unreleased. Unreleased tracks aren't the reason for this package, un-reissued mixes are, with the first disc containing the original stereo mix of Sell Out, the second the original mono mix. Often, parsing these kinds of mixes is the province of fanatics...and to a certain extent that's true here, at least in regards to the stereo mix, which does feel different than the 1995 reissue: it's different but not dramatically so. That's not the case with the mono mix, which is punchier and occasionally graced with additional flair, like a completely different guitar solo on "Our Love Was." Also, this reissue flows differently than the 1995 deluxe edition, which was sequenced to mimic the original album's pirate radio flow. That sensibility is retained on the first disc, where unbilled commercials pop up between the bonus tracks, but on the second disc the bonus material stands slightly apart from the rest of the album, which may be an appropriate move because this disc houses many of the alternate mixes and trails out with uncredited backwards backing tracks for "Armenia City in the Sky" and an unreleased commercial for the U.S. product Great Shakes. Despite all the repeated songs and differing mixes, it's only these hidden clips that feel like collector bait; there's such infectious joy and invention to this music, it's easy to get swept up in its momentum. Besides, repetition has always been the name of the game in radio, so having songs repeat throughout this deluxe edition of The Who Sell Out only accentuates and strengthens its initial pop art concept, which makes this a rare Deluxe Edition that manages to improve an already great album, and offers up a wealth of rarities while still being immensely entertaining. (Collector's note: even though this does have a wealth of rarities, it does not contain "Melancholia" and "Glow Girl" which were on the 1995 disc, giving further reason than the different mix to hold onto that reissue.) - All Music Guide

Link in comments.

Dodgy - The Dodgy Album

The Dodgy Album is the debut 1993 album by the British indie group Dodgy.

"Water Under the Bridge", the first single released from this album, saw the beginning of "the way of dodgy", a step-by-step enlightened 'dodgy' philosophy that would appear on the record sleeves for each of their future recordings. The artwork also included their 'mdv' logo. The single was released in early 1993, and the video for the song featured the band in Amsterdam.
The second single was "Lovebirds", a song that had won them award on Gary Crowley's GLR show during the band's youth. Included on the single was the acoustic live favourite "Big Brown Moon".
Continuing their new shiny artwork single success, Dodgy released "I Need Another", the cover of which depicted the band as garden gnomes and included a campfire version of "Never Again", complete with the sound of crackling logs.

Get it: HERE