KEY RELEASES - 07.03.09: CATALOGUE REVIEWS.(Sound recording review)

VARIOUS

Gonks Go Beat/I've Gotta Horse (RPM RETRO 846)

Their dated but delicious soundtracks to two British B-movies from 1965 are cult classics in their own right and were previously very difficult to find. Both have preposterous stories but excellent soundtracks, with the fact that Gonks Go Beat's rival gangs are Rockers and Balladeers meaning there's some great uptempo raves, such as Lulu's very throaty Choc Ice, and some sickly sweet and tongue-in-cheek slowies like Broken Pieces by Elaine & Derek. The presence of Graham Bond, The Nashville Teens and Ginger Baker should help sales. Second set I've Gotta Horse is a bit of a mish-mash. Comprising largely of Billy Fury recordings, it contains a couple of excellent songs but also some trash, including the theatrical You've Got To Look Right For The Part, on which Fury is joined on vocals by future Coronation Street star Amanda Barrie and Jon Pertwee.

WE FIVE

There Stands The Door - The Best Of We Five (Big Beat CDWIKD286)

A major attraction on the San Francisco scene, We Five found that elusive middle ground between folk and pop and enjoyed a fair amount of success stateside in the latter half of the Sixties. This definitive collection brings together the best of their A&M output and some previously unissued material. At their best, they harnessed their instinctive folk sensibilities to more commercial songs such as major US hit You Were On My Mind and Chet Powers' Let's Get Together. We Five ...