The
first time that I saw Studio 68 play was when they supported my band, The
Threads, in Hamburg in April 1988. This was a time when the old guard of
early/mid-eighties Mod bands, such as Makin’ Time, The Moment, The Prisoners,
The Risk, The Threads, The Rage, The Gents etc. were breaking up and giving way
to the new generation of bands on the scene like The James Taylor Quartet, The
Clique, The Aardvarks and The Studio 68!
Although
great ‘live’, Studio 68 suffered the fate of many of our bands back then of
never getting enough recorded output released (in those pre-iTunes days you
really did need the backing of a record label as self-releasing vinyl was very
expensive from a band’s perspective, particularly after the cost of those
studio recordings).
However,
in this MODern world we live in, we do have the benefit of those masters of the
archives, Detour Records, to search out (un)known recordings that have never
been released as well as putting together some great anthologies (it was thanks
to Dizzy & Tania that The Threads very own anthology, ‘Step Back In Time’, went
through the process of digital re-mastering to see the light of day on CD and
iTunes). And they have done it again with the ‘Portobellohello’ 16-track
release (on the Paisley Archive imprint) by The Studio 68! on CD (just 200
copies so get your order in quickly) and on iTunes.
Legend
has it that this was an album recorded in 1992 but the master tapes were lost
for 20 years. Until now!!!
The
first track, ‘Windfall’, really feels like a curtain raiser and is a good
opening track. This is followed by the excellent ‘Goodbye Baby and Amen’ with
combines organ and guitar to great affect and could easily have been the A-side
of a 7” single back in the day. ‘Afternoon Sun’ starts in a more mellow way and
soon builds up into another cracking number. ‘The Other Me’ has a real freakbeat
vibe whilst ‘Death of a Poet’ is a thoughtful, well written song and really
rather good. ‘In A Broken Dream’ is a fabulous instrumental which gives the
Hammond a great work-out and is right up my street, and this is followed by the
chunky ‘Rollin’ Machine’ and ‘Mrs Choudhrey’. ‘Just Say The Word’ heads into
Britpop territory and suggest what could have been (timing is everything,
unfortunately) whilst the title track, ‘Portobellohello’, is more floaty,
slower paced and experimental in terms of sounds and textures.
The
stonking ‘Get Out Of My Hair’ is next up, with its pacey Motown beat and
hook-line that makes this another A-side candidate. And just when you think it
can’t get any better, it does – ‘Doubledeckerbus’ is a huge song that will have
your feet moving before you know it. This is a top, top tune. ‘Lighthouse’ has
a very 66/67 feel to it and is another favourite of mine. Heading towards the
end of this album we get the fab & groovy ‘Pop Star’s Country Mansion’, the
late sixties feeling ‘He’s My Sister’, and finally the finale of ‘How To
Succeed In The Music Business’ which is like a Hammond powered spy thriller
them tune with the title vocalised 1 minute and 30 seconds into this 2 minute
track. A fabulous finish to a magnificent album.
Well
done Detour, well done The Studio 68!, and well done to those of you who now go
and pre-order this 10th March release before the limited numbers of
copies have all gone!!!!!!!
Paul Hooper-Keeley
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