My first Joe Meek recording I have ever heard was The Honeycombs "Have I The Right," in 1964. I was ten-years-old at the time, I knew nothing of the world of the record producer, or even aware of the identity of the songwriter. I knew the artists that were The Honeycombs and they had a girl drummer. Did I need to know more? It wasn't until my year-long stay in Japan that I found a Joe Meek compilation at a swanky music store in Roppongi called 'The Wave.' I was intrigued to hear more sounds similar to The Honeycombs, which from the very first time of the hearing, I was a life-long fan of that unique echo sound.
Shortly I became a Meek addict, especially when I read his biography in various publications. I have always had an interest in the Gay subculture in London, and Meek is a character that was very much part of that world. Also the fact that he was insane and killed his poor landlady, and then committed suicide. A tragic incident, but one can hear traces here and there in his recordings that expressed his interest in the after-life, UFOs, and perhaps hidden messages between men. Meek, perhaps even more important, was a sonic genius. Once you hear the sound of Meek, you will never forget it.
Over the years there have been numerous compilations on Meek's recordings, which in theory, is difficult to pull off, due to the fact that the record's ownership is often in question, due that Meek often licensed his recordings to other labels. Therefore we have this Decca Records release "The Joe Meek Story" which is very good, but not complete by any means. What excited me to have this record is to obtain Meek recordings that are not digitalized for the CD format. It's not that difficult to find an original Meek production as a 45 rpm single, but locating vinyl compilation of his works is rather difficult. Except for a handful of original vinyl releases, most of his work came out as singles.
The plus side of the Meek compilations is that one comes upon a song or recording never released on another compilation. I have at least 10 compilations of Meek's (all on CD) and often they don't repeat their songs/recordings. "The Joe Meek Story" is missing some famous recordings, but it's the obscure tracks that I find totally fascinating and great. Mike Barry and The Outlaws' (featuring Richie Blackmore on guitar) captures the essence of Meek's obsession with Buddy Holly as well as a weird outer-space version of Rockabilly. Most of the songs here were written by Meek, and as a songwriter, he's never consistent. But his productions never fail. Someone like Phil Spector is more consistent with quality, but every Meek record has a tinge of weirdness or eccentricity. Which is one of the reasons why I like to collect Meek, both on CD and more importantly on vinyl. I feel each recording by this lunatic expresses a sense of hysteria and desire. Meek was very much of his culture of the 1950s, that he rebelled against by becoming an independent producer with his own studio - mostly built by his own hands. The majority of his work is from the early 1960s, yet there is something distant and far away from his music for that era. He was an artist that wasn't attached to the times, compared to The Fab Four or the work of Andrew Loog Oldham. Meek is or was very much an outsider artist.
"The Joe Meek Story" comes with fascinating liner notes. A small biography as well as a breakdown of all the songs selected for this compilation. The one odd thing is mentioning the suicide (not in detail), and staying away from the fact that he murdered someone before shooting himself in the head. Art comes with darkness, like life itself.
