Time of the season (The Zombies) (LP 4634)

The Zombies  Odessey and Oracle (Vinyl, Big Beat Records, 1968) *****  

Genre: Pop, Baroque pop. chamber pop, psychedelic rock 

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Time of the Season

Gear costume: Care of Cell 44

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: The Zombies was a band that had to exist in the late sixties in England. Their time, their sound, their place (Abbey Road studios of course) - a perfect marriage.

Band members on their second album, Odessey and Oracle (the misspelling was not deliberate, but very 1968!) were: Colin Blunstone (lead vocals); Rod Argent (keyboards); Paul Atkinson (guitar); Chris White (bass); Hugh Grundy (drums). 

The recipe included a heavy dollop of Rod's mellotron and other keyboards, mix with Colin's smooth/ otherworldly lead vocals, the massed vocal harmonies, all set inside melodic rock songs that are bright (sunny) and breezy.

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Where do they all belong? The indifference that met the record meant the band broke up and Colin Blunstone's solo career and the Argent band was born. Sometimes the path reveals itself.

Sunlight (The Youngbloods) (LP 4633)

The Youngbloods  Elephant Mountain (Vinyl, RCA Records, 1969) ***  

Genre: Pop rock, folk rock, jugband

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Sunlight

Gear costume: On Sir Francis Drake

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: Reading an obit in Mojo Magazine for Jesse Colin Young (he passed away in March 2025) prompted me to search out this album after it was mentioned as a peak moment.

The Youngbloods by 1969, and this album, were down to a trio of Young, Lowell (Banana) Levinger (keyboards, guitar) and Joe Bauer on drums.

It's a pretty relaxed album with Jesse's great vocals giving the songs warmth and cohesion. However, it's the instrumentals that I tend to like the most. They are interspersed throughout the album to good effect.  

Where do they all belong? The band had that big hippy hit with Get Together in 1967. Jesse would move on to have a solo career after The Youngbloods.

Over under sideways down (The Yradbirds) (LP 4630 - 4632)

The Yardbirds  Roger the Engineer (CD, Mushroom Records, 1966, reissue 1995) ****  

The Yardbirds  The Very Best of The Yardbirds (CD, Union Square Music, 2005) **** 

The Yardbirds  The Best of The Yardbirds - Shapes of Things (2CD, Music Club Deluxe, 2010) **** 

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, second bookshop in Waipukerau)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Happenings Ten Years Time Ago

Gear costume: The Nazz Are Blue

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: I've previously included a post on my four Yardbirds singles, now it's time to feature their albums, but that's tricky.

Given the revolving door of genius guitarists (Clapton > Beck > Page) the idea of being a stable band is a luxury the band never had. The other problems were: starting with a live album (Five Live Yardbirds); having albums released in America but not the UK (For Your Love and Having a Rave Up); not having a Lennon/McCartney type writing presence; plus having a string of hit singles! But that was the early sixties for you!

All that said, The Yardbirds occupy a special place in rock history. Simply put - no one sounded like their unique blend of the blues, R&B and pop smarts.

The Yardbirds band members: Chris Dreja (rhythm guitar, bass), passed away last year; vocalist/harmonica player Keith Relf passed away in 1976; while Paul Samwell-Smith (bass) and Jim McCarty (drums) are still alive and well. Of the famous guitar trio - Jeff Beck passed away in 2023; Eric and Jimmy are still going strong.

Roger the Engineer (A.K.A. Yardbirds; A.K.A. Over Under Sideways Down) is their 1966 album that sounds like it was recorded yesterday (or 1977). It is a superb amalgam of all their talents (Jeff Beck being the guitarist du jour). It contains all original material which is often forgotten, and while being a bit inconsistent, it is still their best album.

Aside from Roger the other two albums are, more or less, essential compilations. The Very Best of The Yardbirds takes a largely chronological approach (Stroll On from Blow Up is tagged onto the end - no complaints - I love that song and film), Therefore, it includes amongst its 20 songs a number of early live tracks, belters like Train Kept A Rollin', For Your Love and Jeff's Blues, but also contains the terrible Hang on Sloopy.

The Best of The Yardbirds - Shapes of Things doubles the song count over its 2CD format. That expansion obviously gives a fuller picture of the band and as it largely ignores the live tracks, the two CD compilations work well together.

Where do they all belong? Under Jimmy Page's stewardship, the band would eventually become The New Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin, and so it's great to see the progression to that seminal band via these albums.

Fly (The Wishing Tree) (LP 4629)

The Wishing Tree Ostara (CD, Edel Records, 2009) ****  

Genre: Prog rock, folk rock

Places I remember: FOPP

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles/ Gear costume: Falling (on YouTube)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: The Wishing Tree is a side project for Marillion's ace guitarist Steve Rothery plus singer Hannah Stobart and Paul Craddick (from the prog rock band Enchant) who is also Hannah's husband. Ostara is their second album. 

Hannah has a beautiful, distinctive voice in the floaty folky Celtic tradition. The whole album perfectly captures the special chemistry between Rothery and Stobart - their talents mesh beautifully.

Where do they all belong? The project ended with this second album as Rothery returned to Marillion duties.

Nothing left to lose (Everything But The Girl) (LP 4625 - 4628)

Everything But The Girl  At Maida Vale (BBC Maida Vale Sessions) (Vinyl, BBC Records, 2024) ***** 

Mike Oldfield  Hergest Ridge - The 1974 Demo (Vinyl, Mercury Records, 2024) **** 

Ringo Starr  Long Long Road (CD, UME Records, 2026) ***

The Moody Blues  Say It With Love (Vinyl, UME Records, 2026) ***

Genre: Alt Pop, Prog rock, Beatle pop

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Choose Love (Ringo)

Gear costume: Long Long Road (Ringo)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: The Everything But The Girl EP At Maida Vale, The Moody Blues EP, and the Mike Oldfield album were in the Record Store Day reduced price bin at JB. I find the prices on the Record Store Day releases to be crazily out of my reach so I was delighted to find these three items selling for sensible prices.

At Maida Vale has the duo working on four mood pieces - nothing pacey going on but Tracey Thorn's vocals are a treat at any speed. Ben Watt's music is sympatico with the lyrics, the 2am vibe, and Tracey's vocals.

Single is the only song that didn't appear on the parent album Fuse. It fits in well to the EP which is superb on every level.

The Mike Oldfield 1974 demo to his second album Hergest Ridge is wonderful. This could have been released in this form quite easily. Mike plays all the instruments in these recordings from The Beacon studio in Herefordshire before heading to The Manor for the final recordings. The man's a genius!

I played Hergest Ridge straight after it and it's great to compare the two. The demo lays out the path, and the proper album follows that path with gusto by adding further instruments from guest musicians (snare drum, trumpet), strings and voices.

Ringo's latest continues in the country genre with similar approach and personnel to his previous record (Look Up). He does stray from that approach once, on a re-recording of Choose Love from his 2005 album (which is, incidentally, my favourite song here). 

It's an okay album, a couple of mawkish love songs detract a little but the rest is standard weepy country territory. On the whole it's not a peak like Look Up was, but it's hard to be niggly. Ringo is 85 and still firing so good luck to him. 

BTW, I decided on a CD copy because the vinyl version was nearly three times the price at close to $90. That's crazy!

My final purchase was another Record Store Day special - a 12 inch single of The Moody Blues' Say It With Love. That and two songs on the B-side (The Story in Your Eyes/ Steppin' in a Slide Zone) are live versions taken from Days of Future Passed Live.

Where do they all belong? There are still a couple of albums in JB Hi Fi's Record Store Day bins that I have my eyes on (Yes and Joni Mitchell) but they are much more expensive items, so we'll see.

Stop press: I did pick those up when JB had a 20% off sale last weekend.

Can't explain (The Who) (LP 4621 - 4624)

The Who  Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (CD, MCA Records, 1971) *****  

The Who  Then and Now (CD, MCA Records, 2004) ***** 

The Who  My Generation - The Very Best of The Who (CD, Polydor Records, 1996) ***** 

The Who  The Kids are Alright (CD, Polydor Records, 1979) ****  

Genre: Rock

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi, Kings Recording (Abu Dhabi),

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Pictures of Lily

Gear costume: Magic Bus

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: Compiled by Pete, Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy is a peerless collection of smash hits. Most were released as singles, so this is a genuinely interesting alternative view of the band outside of the, at times, grandiose concepts that Pete was working on for albums. BTW the title refers to the four band members, but I prefer to consider how it describes the songs on the album. A five-star classic!

Then and Now's title refers to a couple of new (post Entwistle) tracks added to the 18 older songs - value for money at 20 tracks. The only problem is that the 18 'Then' songs are ones already included on plenty of other compilations.

My Generation - The Very Best of The Who is the pick of the comprehensive compilations. It also has 20 tracks but these are chosen to represent the best they would release from 1964 to 1981. Not a duff track to be found amongst the 20 - this is the best place to start if you are new to the joys of Pete, Roger, Keith and John.

And finally, the soundtrack to the film The Kids Are Alright. This also makes for an awesome alternative Who as all the songs are live versions of their big moments. Plus, it has the hilarious introduction of the band on The Smothers Brothers Show. 

All up, the DVD version of the film captures all the songs amid their contexts, but the album provides another view which is also valuable.

Where do they all belong? That's it for The Who. They do crop up on various Woodstock compilations but I don't think they've released their entire performance there on album yet - something I need to investigate.

(The Who) (LP 4617 - 4620)

The Who  Live at Leeds (CD, Polydor Records, 1970) *****  

The Who  Live at Hull 1970 (CD, Polydor Records, 2012) ****  

The Who  Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (CD/ DVD, Salvo Records, 1996) ****  

The Who  BBC Sessions (CD, BBC Records, 1999) ****  

Genre: Rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, HMV

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Young Man Blues (Live at Leeds)

Gear costume: Substitute (Live at Leeds); Shakin' All Over (BBC Sessions)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: Live is where The Who are best experienced outside of The Who Sell Out and Who's Next. It's certainly where Keith Moon sounds most manic and a vital force for The Who. His ADHD approach to drumming is perfect for this band.

Live at Leeds is a great example, their first and probably their finest live album. This is one case where the extended CD version with 14 songs has it all over the truncated original vinyl version which only had six songs.

The band is all attack on these 14 songs. Pete's energy and angst is channeled into an explosion of guitar riffs and John's bass is imperious. That plus Roger on top form and Keith drumming up a storm of rhythmic noise makes this an essential Who album.

Incredibly, The Who performed and were recorded live in Hull the next day! The result was shelved until 2012 because of some technical sound issues. Predictably, Live at Hull has a similar set list, although it does have a pretty full run through of Tommy. It's good, the crowd is a little more subdued and the sound isn't as good as Live at Leeds.

The third live album from 1970 is from their appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival. The setlist is similar but there are a few new songs like Don't Know Myself, Naked Eye and Water included. I'm not sure I need yet another run through of Tommy though. 

All up - Live at Leeds is the place to go. The others are nice to have, of course, but Leeds is all you really need.

The BBC Sessions album serves as a great introduction to the band being a compilation of their BBC radio appearances. The time period is early doors (1965 to 1973) so there are loads of surprising covers, all given The Who treatment along the way.

Where do they all belong? Next time - The Who compilations.