This is a great 2 cd introduction to the near 60 year career of Andy Ellison from his beginnings in Dorking/Box Hill based The Silence in 1965, to John's Children Leatherheads finest Psychedelic band, some solo material that has the likes of Rod Stewart, Madeleine Bell and Dusty Springfield on Backing vocals, through to his time with Jet and Radio stars, his work with Boz Boorer and the second and third versions of John's Children as well as songs with Andy Lewis.
Now I have to admit while I know about most of the groups Andy has been in, I have never got into any of them, despite several friends trying to get me to see John's Children I never did, which judging by this compilation is certainly my loss. So I come to this comp to be educated and come away liking lots of the music on here, a great introduction to a man with a very long career in music. The liner notes explain just how much of a wild man Andy was in the 60's and 70's and the times he ended up in hospital after going a bit too wild at gigs.
The first cd opens with the Beat group sounds of Surrey's finest The Silence with Cold On Me, it's a decent mid-60's chugger with a great guitar solo, perfect to do the stroll too.
Forgive Me If I'm Wrong is also by The Silence and is a slow brooding break up song as they beg and plead over the organ heavy almost neo-soul song.
Smashed Blocked by John's Children has a long-spoken word intro into this odd psychedelic part before a really pretty almost doo wop part and then switches between the two sides of the coin.
Just What You Want-Just What You'll Get has a chanting chorus behind the main vocals on this sort of strident psychedelic song with some Beach Boys echoes.
Come And Play With Me In The Garden has some possibly worrying lyrics about what happens in the garden, the drums seem to accent the action, as you try to decide if it's a good Idea to go and play with him or not.
Hippy Gumbo from 1968 is the first solo song and has an acoustic guitar and cello and strings this is a slow mordant song about hippy goings on.
Casbah Candy is a solo song about a girl who gets up to all sorts of wild 60's stuff with a great boogie woogie piano over the standard beat group backing, but worth hearing for the piano alone.
It's been A Long Time opens with seagulls before the sadness at its core comes through in the vocals and music, this was on the soundtrack to the legendary Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush, this makes me want to see the film again, as the strings and trumpet envelop us, like the embrace described in the lyrics.
Arthur Green is a garage rock psychedelic song that feels like it's about going on a strange trip and not being sure how or when you'll come back to earth, as you find yourself in the middle of a room of naked girls.
Fool From Upper Eden is a heartbreaker as Andy sings about the guy she's run off with on this 60's organ led pop song.
Another Lucky Lie is flute folk hippy pop that has echoes of early Tyrannosaurus Rex but with more coherent and understandable lyrics about love and betrayal.
You Can't Do That is almost like a long-lost Northern Soul classic, this has great orchestration and glorious backing vocals from Dusty Springfield, Madeline Bell and Rod Stewart one of the best tunes on the compilation. It's so good I almost didn't notice it was a Beatles cover.
Cornflake Zoo seems to be describing a wild night out where he finds his girl for the night early on and offers to save her from all the other dudes coming on to her. The guitar outro is brilliant.
His cover of Help sounds like it comes from a music for pleasure cash in album, the strings and female backing vocals by Dusty Springfield and Madeleine Bell lift it, but it still has an easy listening feel to it that would have sounded good in 1968.
The compilation then jumps from 1968 to 1975 and a demo of Lazy Sunday by Jet that takes the Kinks classic to a jazz club, built around a brilliant piano part and some groovy guitar.
Dirty Pictures by Radio Stars is in praise of porn mags, asking a girl if he can take Dirty Pictures of her, this is very 1970's while reminding me of the creepy guys, who would ask girls if they could take pictures of them. Thankfully musically this has razor sharp guitars and a pop punk feel to it.
The Radio Stars Nervous Wreck is all about losing the plot for that one special woman, who doesn't love them back, as he's just another number on her dance card, the backing vocals move across the speakers in a very 70's lets prove we are in stereo way, this is rather catchy and fun.
Is it Really Necessary? By The Radio Stars fades in for a guitar led power pop tune as they get up to all sorts.
The Radio Stars God Tape (I've Got Dem Old) Sex In Chains Blues (Again Mama) has a Brian Blessed style narration that takes us deep into Dorking before the band break in with a bar room blues sing along, about just how she mistreats him, with a wild break down full of screams and yelps and then as the guitar cuts through in time for them to get locked up in chains and go wild.
We then jump forward to 1985 for a solo Life's Too Short that has a gentle cod reggae feel with vocals that are a bit 10CC in places. Desdemona is with Boz Boorer and may have been recorded in 1988 but it sounds more like 1967 this has a great freakbeat feel to it.
Scare Me To Death by The Radio Stars closes the first cd with a furious ode to halitosis over a great estuary pub rock sound.
The second cd opens with John's Children II version of Eleanor Rigby from 2004 its faster than the original, feel's quite punky with some really freaky guitars. They carry on their Beatles obsession with a version of Here Comes The Sun that's alright, but really this song has been covered too many times far better than this, I have to question why you'd bother recording this in 2004 if this had come from 74 it would have made more sense.
Cluster Bombs a solo song from 2008 has a full string arrangement and carefully placed guitar parts as this song of the aftereffects of war, Cluster bombs in Canning town a place that often looked like a bomb site.
Heather Lane from 2008 feels like its from the mid 60's this is a beat group with Andy Lewis, with odd interludes, a song of regret for what happened to poor old Heather Lane.
Top Of The Tower is also with Andy Lewis and has sweeping strings and a beat boom feel to it as he sings of his regrets for someone who left him over 30 years ago, while remembering the 3 day week.
Disappear Across the Sky is also with Andy Lewis has some driving keyboards and sitar for a very 60's sounding song about chasing an elusive prize that always flies out of his arms.
The 2003 version of Children Of The Revolution with Boz Boorer has loads going on and the effects work brilliantly to do justice to this classic.
Blister Bird is solo and slower and quite bitter at an ex and for his well lived life, all sorts of cool stuff going on with the guitars and in the mix, this isn't where it was advertised as being so may throw listeners out a bit.
It's been A Long Time with Boz Boorer is quite bucolic and reflective with some good violin and tambourine backing that sounds early 70's even though it was recorded in 1995.
Sara Crazy Child is also with Boz Boorer is a song for a wasted child who lived it and lost her mind along the way, the strings make this feel quite downbeat and sad.
But She's Mine by John's Children II from 1999 has acoustic guitar and bongos backing for an updating or reworking of the bands 1966 single.
We then go back to 1993 for Radio Stars and Joyrider takes us on a ride across the mean streets of Northern Ireland during the troubles. As the guitar tries to talk there way out of the trouble they might be in at that checkpoint.
Blame it On The Young is the Radio Stars anthem for the disaffected youth who take the blame for all of life's ills, especially those caused by those old enough to know better, this has some careening guitars with a good chugging rhythm.
Down Train is a solo song from 1995 that has a bit of an 80's drum sound and dubby guitars as Andy narrates his tale of sadness and regret for the last 12 years.
She's So Dissatisfied also from 1995 is about a depressed woman who's on the edge of the precipice, will she find a way to stay alive or will she give in, the backing for this sad tale is rather pensive and searching for answers that are as hard to find as solutions to her problems.
Cosmic Dancer is with Boz Boorer from 2003 and just makes me think of the kid dancing on a pier in Kinky Boots to this tune, this is a slow take full of feeling and understanding.
Was He Pushed? From 2020 Is a solo song that sounds a bit like Drive by The Cars as Andy looks back on some of the things he's seen and can't quite remember how things went down.
The compilation closes with Anyway Goodbye from 2005 that has a few regrets for how things turned out, but not too many as he says goodbye as if he's writing his own swan song. Thankfully he's still with us though.
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