These days it’s pretty hard to find a band declaring themselves as “mod” and fulfilling the entire genre defining aspects. Mostly, it’s more about the image and the attitude.
Not that they followed the concept all the way, but at the moment of making these very recordings in 1985, The Clique seemed like an essence of the above mentions, both musically and visually. All that this is about, is pure British, mid-’60s r’n’beat, spiced with the Hammond screams, courtesy of the special guest star, James Taylor, making it all even more MODernistic.
Most of the album comprises covers of classics such as the (kinda expected but more than welcome) mod anthem Leaving Here, Ol’man Mose’s Young Man Blues, Slim Harpo’s Te-ni-nee-ni-nu or Don Convay’s Sookie Sookie (also used as a starting point for the band’s own Wormin’ instro).
As for the originals, there’s only a few, but precious ones, starting with the opening MGs-flavour of the Breaking The Ice instrumental, which is followed with the freakbeatin’ r’n’b sound of Gonna Get Me Somebody (kinda speeding up the Pretties’ Me Needing You bass line) and later on, I’m No Good Without You, reminding of what actually seems as one of the main influences (IMHO), the British Birds.
After it’s been “forgotten” somewhere in the vaults of the Acid Jazz label (supposedly for no particular reason), and though you might miss Trevor French’s growl sometimes, this is a welcome addition to the “bigg boss beat” of The Clique’s only long-playing release, Self Preservation Society.
[Released by Detour 2003]
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