Various Artists: Looking Back - 80 Mod, Freakbeat & Swinging London Nuggets, 3CD Box-Set

RE-PRESS: CD ORIGINALLY RELEASED IN 2011:

A mammoth eighty-track compendium of the finest (mostly) British Mod sounds of the 60s, housed in a Clambox with a 48-page booklet.

Looking Back boasts a smattering of previously unissued gems from the likes of A Wild Uncertainty, Tony Rivers & The Castaways, The Thoughts, The Trekkas and The Knave.

Many tracks were new to CD when this esteemed boxset was first released, including nuggets from the Lloyd Alexander Real Estate (who later became Audience), and soul obscurities from Maynell Wilson, Hoagy Benson and Watson T. Brown & Explosive.

Looking Back is designed by Andy Morten (Shindig magazine, Rev-Ola).

Many of the rarities here are drawn from cult British labels such as Planet, Ember and Chapter One. Other obscurities were only issued abroad (The Sorrows, The Alan Bown Set). Many of the artists, such as Arthur Brown and The Groundhogs, went on to enjoy huge success. The Valentines, for example, were fronted by a pre-AC/DC Bon Scott!

Disc One of Looking Back concentrates on Beat-era nuggets and R&B rarities, including classics by The Syndicats, The In Crowd and John Lee’s Groundhogs.

Disc Two presents more soulful material, inspired by the mid-60s Motown boom, with dancefloor faves from Brothers Grimm, J.J. Jackson and Watson T. Browne.

Disc Three dips into the Psychedelic era with an assortment of Swinging London 45s and a smattering of Femme Pop wonders.