Get Ready For The Countdown - Mod, Brit Soul, R&B & Freakbeat Nuggets (Clamshell Box)

Get Ready for the Countdown: Mod, Brit Soul, R&B & Freakbeat Nuggets includes exactly what it says on the box and does it in exciting fashion. Trawling through the dozens of tracks on offer is likely to give even the most hardcore devotees of the sounds of mid- to late British pop enough thrills to make the nominal entrance fee well worth it. Apart from a few tracks by big names of the era like the Small Faces, the Moody Blues and the Pretty Things, and oft-compiled bands like the Action, Johns Children, and the Creation, the bulk of the collection is populated by off-the-main tracks, artists, and songs. Most of the bands are familiar to the members of that group and a handful of trainspotters, though judging by how good most of their tracks sound, they should have been bigger. Check out the Little Darlings rip-roaring blues shouter "Easy to Cry" and try to explain why they werent at least as feted as the Pretty Things. Give a listen to Val McKennas drama-choked "Its All in My Imagination" and tell the class why she isnt as big as Dusty Springfield. There are more examples of these historical quandaries, but even better are the loads of avenues for further discovery. Elmer Gantrys Velvet Operas jaunty music-hall rocker "Looking for a Happy Life" should definitely inspire a desire to dig into their discography, Wynder K. Frogs left-field jazz-pop knees-up "Incense" will make one wonder what other delights some excavation might uncover, and hearing the Syns soaring Freakbeat anthem "Grounded" without wanting to hear more by them feels wrong. If one isnt inclined to turn the collection into a research project, there is no shame in just enjoying the sounds. Every track here is imbued with joy and excitement, whether its rollicking early R&B like David John & the Moods "Pretty Thing," swinging light pop like the Fingers "Cant Live It Down" -- one of eight songs rescued from Joe Meeks cabinet of unheard tapes -- finger-snapping soul like Carl Douglas & the Big Stampedes "Let the Birds Sing," or My Generations pummeling mod rocker "Getting Out." Full of great songs and dusty discoveries, Get Ready for the Countdown paints a technicolor picture of the U.K. music scene thats an invaluable resource and a thrilling soundtrack for any occasion that calls for a boost of energy and fun. ~ Tim Sendra