The Herd - "The Fontana Years" 2 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 2009 (Vinyl Lovers)

For this past month, I have been obsessing over the British 60s band The Herd.  Due to my shopping mood at the time I purchased an original U.S. compilation album of ten Herd songs.  Mostly due to the fact that The Herd seemed to be under the spell of the songwriting talents Howard Blaikley (Alan Blaikley & Ken Howard).   Dave Dee, Dozy Beaky, Mick & Tich used their services as well as The Honeycombs.  All brilliant.  So how can the Herd fail?  What surprises me is how much I love The Herd's music.  Listening to this double-album of 32-songs, it strikes me that The Herd was very much part of the 1967/1968 British world at the time.  "The Fontana Years" is like a See's Candy sample box of chocolate, but set in a specific era and place.  

The Herd sound is not original, but the way they mix it up is fascinating.  They would sound like The Small Faces if they had The Walker Brothers as vocalists, and with a touch of Procol Harum's love of classical melodies.  Gary Taylor only sings lead on a few songs by the band, but he has a rich baritone voice that yells out Scott Walker.  And when he sings the chorus or a bridge of a song, it brings out a 'wow' moment for the listener.   The Herd is very much a band that used and performed the songs by Howard Blaikley, but they also wrote their own material.   There is this duality in their vision, but their eye on the prize was a massive sound.  They can be a cool Mod-orientated Booker T, jazz band, to an obtuse baroque pop band.  And when you hear all their music on this two-disc collection (most of their work was released as singles), it doesn't seem odd that they made strange directional moves, in the context of their pop leanings. 

Peter Frampton (yes that Peter) and Andy Bown wrote half of their material, and they never settled for one sound or aesthetic.   I don't know if there is a Herd "sound," because they pretty much compile all their influences/sounds from their era.   What's surprising is that their technique, either planned or by fault, works.  All four had contributed to the package.  Andrew Steele, their drummer, even sings lead and wrote a song, and it's good.  For anyone who has even the slightest interest in the British music scene of the late 60s I heartily recommend The Herd.  Although they don't sound like The Move, I think they are equally as important as that band.  No foolin'. 

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - "Greatest Hits" Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 1984 (Philips)

The annoying thing about this band from the British Invasion 1960s is their name: Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich (future reference for this piece DD-DBMT).  God knows what happens if one dropped out of the band, but reading the liner notes on this specific album, all their names are fake.  So in theory, the musicians can be replaceable, because anyone can be Tich.  The other problem I have is due to my memory, I can't recall the name of their band if I didn't have a piece of paper in front of me with their name on it.  I can remember up to Dave Dee, and I know there's a Mick somewhere there, but beyond that, memory failure.    On the other hand, they're one of my favorite 'pop' bands of that period.   Their music lacks any authentic feelings, and in fact is pure pop wallpaper music.  Which is often bad, but somehow DD-DBMT is brilliant at it. 

Their key element is that all their songs are written by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, sometimes known as Howard Blaikley on liner notes or label credits.  They are also responsible for The Honeycombs (Joe Meek band), one of my favorite all time bands.   On one level, they're hack songwriters, but like DD-DBMT, they have a particularly brilliant zeal to their work.  And interesting enough, their songs for DD-DBMT are entirely different from The Honeycombs. I wouldn't think they were the same songwriters.  The Honeycombs are theatrical mood pieces, set to a pop medium, but DD-DBMT is almost goofy and clearly in their later years very much over-the-top productions.  

I first heard DD-DBMT watching an early performance piece on video by Gilbert and George.  They did a great dance to "Bend It," one of DD-DBMT's greatest songs.   It may have been a minor hit on American airwaves as well, but my memory (like remembering this band's name) is cloudy, but for sure the song made a huge impression on me through the talents of Gilbert & George.  I have three separate greatest hits collections by them.  Two are on vinyl, one on CD, and I also on my computer have their original albums issued in Japan about ten years ago.   The early DD-DBMT material was very straight ahead mod-like pop.  But very commercial with incredibly strong choruses.  Catchy as hell!  In a nutshell, superb 45 rpm singles. 

What's interesting about the compilation album I'm writing about now, are the songs on side two.  All are made later in their careers and very ambitious in sound and scope.  Still, entirely in the pop medium, but kind of koo-koo in theory and sound wise.  "Zabadak" and "Legend of Xanadu" are ridiculous.  Which is a big aspect of their appeal or specialness.  Fake exotica with a crazed production, it's a hard piece of work to avoid or ignore.  One of their greatest songs is "Last Night in Soho," one of the best, if not THE most fantastic song regarding that part of London, and its nightlife.   My advice is to track down the greatest hits albums (I think there are many editions throughout the world) and swing with the songs.  Pure ear candy. 

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - "Greatest Hits" Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 1967 (Fontana)

I could be wrong, but I suspect that Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich (DDDBM&T) never actually had a hit in the United States.  For one, who can remember their full name?  Two, they made brilliant ultra-pop records.  So pop that it borders on the eccentric side of that category.  There are two reasons why I'm interested in DDDBM&T.  One, I first heard "Bend It" in conjunction with the great art duo Gilbert & George, where they did a dance to this recording.  I loved the song immediately.  And two, all their hit songs were written by Howard Blaikley, who were actually two songwriters, and wrote tunes for my beloved The Honeycombs. 

I don't think there is another band like DDDBM&T.  Their sound was unique in that it had traces of exotica but done in a hyper-British production that borders on over-production.  "Bend It" is just as powerful as The Who's "My Generation."  It's a rave-up type of tune, with the melody starting off slow, and then it gets faster and faster. Based on a Greek theme motif, it even has a bouzouki on the recording that gives it that cosmopolitan air.  DDDBM&T. had no fear of sounding corny.  In fact, no fear whatsoever.   

This "Greatest Hits" collection is made for American listeners, and it only has 10 songs on the album.  There are more hits and even intriguing b-sides in the U.K., but this is obviously a contractual release of some sort. I'm not sure if there was another official release in America of their music.  In a nutshell, there are better collections out there in the European countries and even (of course) in Japan. For the hardcore fan who must have it all, I direct you there.  Still, this is a delightful album for what it is.  Great tunes here like "Bend It," "You Make It Move," and my fave "Hands Off."   I now regret that I didn't purchase the Japanese CD releases that came out a few years ago.  What I have besides this album is stuff that I downloaded from various websites over the years. 

The Honeycombs - "Something Better Beginning"/"I'll See You Tomorrow" 45 rpm vinyl single (Pye Records)

"Something Better Beginning" is one of my favorite Ray Davies tunes.   It has an incredible amount of drama, and the comparison between The Kinks recording and The Honeycombs version is the drama is presented in a much higher state.  I'm presuming that Ivor Raymonde is responsible for the sound/recording of this song - or it could be Joe Meek.  But it doesn't have the Meek eccentricity.  Still, a beautiful record and The Honeycombs nail the pathos of a romance that may or may not happens. 

B-side "I'll See You Tomorrow" is pure Meek via the songwriting talent of Howard Blaikley (actually two songwriters credited as one).   The melody I believe is based on a Shubert composition.  Dennis D'Ell is one of my favorite singers from the British Invasion era - and Meek really knew how to use his voice.  I often think that D'Ell is the character that Meek imagines himself as - at least vocal wise. A great 45 rpm single.  The Honeycombs are the most underrated band from the British 1960s.