Rock me baby (Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs) (LP 4669 - 4671)

Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs  Great Hits (Vinyl, Calendar Records, 1972) ***  

Billy Thorpe  Time Traveller (Vinyl, Blue Goose Music, 1980) *****

Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs  It's All Happening: 23 Original Hits (CD, Sony Music, 1997) ***

Genre: Pop, rock 

Places I remember: Slow Boat Records, Spellbound Wax Company, Vinyl Countdown

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Most People I Know (Think That I'm Crazy)

Gear costume: Captain Straightman

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: Billy Thorpe is a stone cold, fair dinkum Aussie legend who lived the dream, and some.

He started out a star and stayed one until his death in 2007 from a massive heart attack. He was only 60 in Earth years, but he seemed to live five lifetimes in those 60 years.

These three compilations provide the overview, before we tackle his solo albums (Aztecs Live! at Sunbury has already been covered in this blog).

Great Hits from 1972 is a non chronological smorgasbord of the first three versions of the band which started in 1963 and hit it big with one of their first singles - a cover of Poison Ivy in 1964. 

That song and a smattering of early efforts are on all three albums - most notably on 23 Original Hits which, like Time Traveller, takes a more chronological approach.

The band went through many members in these early days (1964 to 68) with Billy the only constant. In 1969 guitar hero Lobby Lloyd joined Billy and a heavier sound evolved. When Lobby left, Billy emerged as the new axe hero - he was a talented guy! 

Of the three compilations the double album Time Traveller is easily the best. Great hits has an endearing el cheapo knock off aspect to it but it's all over the shop, while 23 Original Hits doesn't represent the heavy side of the band at all. It does include the big 1972 hit Most People I know (Think That I'm Crazy) and the bucolic Almost Summer right at the end, but it's mostly centred on those early years.

Time Traveller documents seven versions of the band, so it is much more comprehensive, even though it only has Billy Thorpe in its title and on the cover.

Where do they all belong? Fittingly, the Billy Thorpe solo albums are next.