Love And Fury - The Holloway Road Sessions 1962-1966

伝説の狂人鬼才プロデューサーJOE MEEKワークのバッキング・グループとしても大活躍した 英国が誇るインストルメンタル・バンドTHE TORNADOS。JOE MEEKのTEA CHEST TAPESアーカイヴから発掘された119もの未発表音源をはじめとするセッション・アウトテイク、デモなどを収録した5CDボックスが登場。英国のグループとして初めて全米1位を獲得した"TELSTER"をはじめとするヒット曲から後期のソウルフルなヴォーカル・ナンバーまでバンドの卓越した音楽性とミークのインスピレーション溢れるプロダクション・テクニックを堪能できる大ヴォリューム・ボックスセットとなっています。

JOE MEEKのエキスパートALAN WILSONによるレストアとマスタリングが施され、THE JOE MEEK SOCIETYのCRAIG NEWTONによるスリーヴ・ノートも添えられています。

Its a blessing that the massive archive of recordings Joe Meek left behind after his death in 1967 -- known by aficionados as the Tea Chest Tapes for the way they were stored -- ended up in the hands of Cherry Red. The labels lovingly curated sets of the innovative producer/engineers sessions offer a wealth of insight into his bag of tricks; Love & Fury: The Holloway Road Sessions 1962-1966, which chronicles his work with the Tornados, is no exception. As one of the house bands at Meeks studio (the other being the Outlaws), the Tornados were one of his main projects. The combination of the bands crisp, surf-inflected instrumental rock, unearthly keyboards, and Meeks unmistakable production sounded like nothing else at the time, and this set reflects just how much work that took with track titles like "Robot (Phase 2 Take 11)." Theres no better example of the Tornados revolutionary sound than their eerie 1962 worldwide hit "Telstar," which topped the U.S. singles chart over a year before the Beatles did. Though there werent as many sessions for the song in the archive as Cherry Red expected, the ones that appear on Love & Fury are compelling. "Telstar (Pre Overdub/Original Speed)" presents a lower, slower incarnation that gives an ominous buzz to its iconic clavioline melody. "Telstar (Meek Demo 2)" features the producer singing the melody over loose, jazzy accompaniment and bears a passing resemblance to Bobby Darins "Beyond the Sea." "Telstar (SFX Tape)" isolates its flutters, rumbles, and zaps, harking back to I Hear a New World. Most of the Tornados output is well-represented on Love & Furys 120-plus tracks -- the vast majority of which are previously unreleased -- and theres enough variety among the different versions of a song like "Life on Venus" that they never become monotonous. It also helps that the set is grouped by the Tornados projects, going deep into the making of their 1963 album Away From It All and that years EP Tornado Rock, where founding drummer Clem Cattinis raw vocals on "Long Tall Sally (Lead Vocal Take 3)" suggest that the band shouldve had him sing more often. Rarities provide some of Love & Furys most exciting finds. The aptly twinkling "All the Stars in the Sky (Original Speed)" only appeared on the soundtrack to the 1963 film Just for Fun, while the like minded "Lullaby of the Stars" is here in crystal-clear audio (many bootlegs of the track were deliberately muddied). The Tornados also served as Billy Furys backing band, and the handful of songs Meek recorded of them together -- including a ripping "Go Go Go (Move On Down The Line)" -- present an entirely different side of the band. Later recordings, like "No More You And Me (Rehearsal Take)" which features Ritchie Blackmore on the guitar solos, and the elegant, keyboard-driven pop of "You Always Did What You Wanted" and "Too Much In Love to Hear," show that the Tornados, and Meek, could indeed move with the times. A deep, deep dive into the work of one of Meeks major artists, Love & Fury: The Holloway Road Sessions 1962-1966 is the ultimate supplement for diehard fans and a fascinating listen for anyone interested in how pop songs are built. ~ Heather Phares