1964 was a year dominated by The Beatles and the British Invasion. The emphasis was very much on pop. Concurrent and sometimes overlapping with Beatlemania and the British Invasion was the British R&B scene, which itself was part of the burgeoning British blues scene. The British Invasion began in Liverpool with The Beatles, followed by other Liverpool groups and groups from London and other parts of the UK such as Manchester, Birmingham, and even some from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The sound become so ubiquitous that it even included musicians from Australia and Americans who became part of the British Invasion like the Walker Brothers, P.J. Proby and others.
This three-CD set miraculously chronicles in exhaustive detail the British R&B boom of 1964. While the scene/genre began in 1964 and would continue, mutate and shapeshift for years to come, 1964 might be considered its brief peak, not so much in quality or commercial success, but by the sheer number of artists.
The scene was centered around many clubs in London, near London or throughout England including the 100 Club, the Ealing Club, Oasis, the King Mojo Club, the Twisted Wheel, the Marquee, the Flamingo, the Railway Hotel, and the Crawdaddy Club. Some of the key players who were not musicians included manager Giorgio Gomelsky, Mike Vernon of Decca and later Blue Horizon Records, and Rick Gunnel of the Gunnel Agency.
It’s important to note that several artists included here were also part of other genres, trends, and scenes such as Manfred Mann, The Yardbirds, The Kinks, The Merseybeats, The Searchers, The Hollies and The Zombies, who were all more associated with the British Invasion. Artists included here more aligned with the British blues scene would include John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, the Graham Bond Organization, Long John Baldry and the Hoochie Coochie Men, and the Hoochie Coochie Men featuring Rod Stewart.
The music here is often Britian’s answer to R&B, but the genres covered extend beyond black American R&B. For example, artists like Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and others would more accurately be described as rock ‘n’ roll. In fact, these three CDs are filled with covers of American rock ‘n’ roll. It is when the tracks here are simply somewhat uninspired covers of American rock ‘n’ roll that the set drags.
Hearing the early, emerging sound of such groups as The Pretty Things, The High Numbers (who finally became The Who), TThe Spencer Davis Group, Georgie Fame and the artists previously mentioned who were part of the British Invasion makes this box such a great listen. It’s also great hearing somewhat obscure groups that would launch future British rock superstars, such as The Art Woods, The Birds, The Tridents, The Paramounts, Shel Naylor, The Plebs, and The Moments. Two groups not included here due to licensing reasons, that are conspicuous by their absence, are Them (featuring Van Morrison) and the Rolling Stones.
Where this box really works is when it reflects the excitement and promise of British groups who borrow liberally from various R&B stylistic elements to create a distinctively British sound all their own, particularly The Pretty Things, The Yardbirds, The High Numbers, Georgie Fame, and The Animals.
Like all Grapefruit label boxes of this ilk, it’s a beautiful package. The three CDs are in mini album-styled jackets, housed in a sturdy clamshell box with an exhaustive and indispensable 48-page booklet with detailed liner notes, track annotations, photos, memorabilia and record labels, sleeves and covers. This is raw, high-powered British music that would be the launching pad for many groups, artists, trends, spin-offs and sounds to come well into the ’70s.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B+
