Various Artists – A Glass Menagerie

Pop, Psych, Pye Collectables 1967-1969

Gathering a bunch of Pye label single sides, at the moment of release almost completely ignored, and these days considered for some of the rarest and most sought after collectors items, the comp’s non-focused content is sure to provide at least a couple of jewels, no matter which of the late’60s styles you prefer.

The ones fitting my own standards the best, start with TURNSTYLE’s sole release, pairing up the punchy freakbeat classic Riding A Wave and it’s even heavier, blues based psych backing Trot, to be continued with THE MOVEMENT’s fuzz laden cruncher Head For The Sun, not too unlike their more famous shortened namesakes. On an almost just as hard rocking side, ONYX’s second single’s My Son John, sounds kind of like the ’67 Who, being blown to a bubblegum balloon proportion, with the Who reference being replaced for the DD,D,B,M&T one on it’s flip side.

The sole group providing not only more than one single (no less than three that is), but the album’s title as well, is of course GLASS MENAGERIE. Equally split between external and internal authors, it’s mostly with the self-written sides that they deliver the goods, with the organ driven heavy Britsike of Frederick Jordan and the bubblegum flavoured power-pop of That’s When I Start To Love Her being the most representative of their abilities.

Of the lighter entries, the 17-year-old-folkie-gone-slightlydelic-along-with-the-times TIMON, released his only Pye single in January of ’68, featuring what’s now being referred to as one of the genre defining toytown pop classics, Bitter Thoughts Of Little Jane, and appropriately enough, the following Anonymous Mr. Brown is nothing less, as delivered by an equally anonymous TONY CRANE.

Besides these, if your own cup of tea is horn laden blue-eyed soul, (over) commercialized orchestrated pop, or even Gene Pitney-like croon, there’s plenty to choose from as well.

[Released by RPM 2007]

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