Joe Meek - "The Emotional, The Cosmic & Occult World of Joe Meek (Mississippi Records)

For the past 30 years I have been obsessed with the sounds and narrative of Joe Meek. There are many compilations out there, but what I suspect is a bootleg, "The Emotional, The Cosmic & Occult World of Joe Meek" is magnificent. Not a bad cut here, and extremely well curated collection of Meek's productions, mostly from the early to mid 1960s. My favorite is Blue Rondos's "Little Baby" which is Roy Obrison magnified in the Meek surroundings into something huge and beautiful. The compressed sound of Meek's production makes it sounds like the band are in a box with tiny air holes to keep them alive. Therefore there is an aural intensity of the sound. The Moontrekkers's "Night of the Vampire" is the ultimate horror instrumental, from the creeking of a casket opening to the female screams, a superb marching riff which I suspect on guitar is played by Richie Blackmore. There is only one mega-hit on this compilation and it's John Leyton's "Johnny Remember Me," a death song bordering on Meek's sense of eros. If you look hard enough one can find this 12-song compilation online. I'm not sure what the sound source is from - CD? Master tapes? Still, it sounds good on my hi-fi. A must for the Joe Meek fan.

Joe Meek - "The Joe Meek Story/The Pye Years" 2 x CD, Compilation, 1991 (Sequel)

Beside The Honeycombs CD that I bought in Japan, this compilation of Joe Meek's 1960s recordings was my introduction to the strange sounds and therefore the odd world of Joe Meek.  I remember buying the double-CD compilation out of curiosity more than anything else.  I was on one of my trips to Japan, and that at the time, was like going to another world.  Something like Meek made perfect sense at the time.   Knowing nothing of the man until I purchased this collection and read it's detailed liner notes, which was hard for me to re-fold in its packaging, was a life-changer.  Listening to the music on this package had a profound effect on me.  One, the sound was so eccentric, yet it's clearly pop or rock music, but with a twisted darkness as an aftertaste.  

The opening cut, Blue Rondo's "Little Baby" was a garage rock version of Roy Orbison, with an incredible echo like vocal that sounded like it came from either heaven or hell.  The other artist that made an impression on me is Glenda Collins, who had the perfect British girl pitch, but a sassy attitude. "It's Hard To Believe It" and "Something I Got To Tell You" are upfront, straight to the face, and a perfect match for Meek's experimentation and sense of romantic angst.  I have read that Meek at one time wanted to marry Glenda, but I suspect that would have been a tragic mistake.  "The Pye Years" is an excellent introduction to the Meek sound, especially with respect to the nod toward the British Invasion at the time.  Here you get instrumentals, but a strong leaning toward a beat rock sound.   His famous songs/works are not on this collection, but it's a very strong compilation.  Get and find it.