All Or NothingGarryBushellwith CraigBrakenbridge -CaffeineNights
It’s1966, En gland have wonthe FIFAWorldCup, w hile in theshadowsof London,
with theRichardsons lockedupand the focus ofthe la wonthe Kray twins’ empire,
there’sapowerstruggleensuing.EastEndmodSteveKnighthasacrewoftrusted
mates, along with aspirationstomusclein on ahostofillici tmoney-making
operations.All Or Nothingisanexplosivelyviolent novel setinmid- 60s London, with
afora ynorth of thebordertoGlasgow,tracing Steveand his brother Kenney,who are
aimingtonotonlyfill vacantspacesintheseedierneon-litunderworld,butalsoto
expandtheir fledglingaspirational empire buildingfar an dwide. Sex,drugs,blags,
violentconfrontations, feuds,protection racketeeringand muc hmore, setint he main
in swingingLond on a sthe backdrop. Mods, villains,hippies and all mannerof
undesirablesrubshoulders throughout.Includedinthefictionalstoryisanattempted
hold-upwith Lambrettascootersasgetawayvehicles.Alsofeatured is Harry Price and
hismob of peanuts, early incarnationsof sk inheads,who ar edrafted in as additional
muscleonaparticularlymeticulouslyplanned caper.Astand-alonecult fictio nclassic
thatconcludeswithasetupthatyouknowwillleadtoasequeltofollow.
Sarge
VariousArtists-NewUntouchables PresentLeBeatBespoke 8-DetourRecords
Eighth volume intheongoing series of
LeBeat Bespokecompilations,aswith
all it spredecessors,it’sbeen collated
by New Untouchables’ ownDr Robert.
Twenty tracks, all triedandtested
dancefloor destroyersatNew
Untouchables’long-running Mousetrap
clubnights over the past fewyearsor
so. Liftedfrom unissued master tapes,
obscureacetates,seriouslyhardtofind
45s,equally rare albumtracksand
evenalternative editsandremixes,
predominantly butnot exclusively all
60 srecordings(oneortwobeingfirst
released in the early 70s).Blending
psyche,freakbeat, fuzz, garagepunk
andmod beatgrooves, arguablyvolume
8isthe best Le Beat Bespoke
collectionsofar,all killer and no filler.
Nothing less is expected from Dr
Robert,who remixed theopening track.
Painted Air was originally limited to
300 singles fromTexanacid punk
outfitRemainingFew.The slow down,
speed up structureoft he original 45
has been remixedand edited into
dance floor dynamite,which alsosets
the barhighfor th eaccompanying
kille rtunes, such as The Seedswhose
1969 album track, Just Let Go, has
been tailoredtosuit (edited) dance
flooraction. Unissued until
recentlyis anotherslab ofTexasgarage
punk, thesleazy ‘n’sinisterunrelenting
Seasons from Neal Fordand The
Fanatics. Anotherthat hasinstant
appealoutside ofadarkbasement
scenario IsTomorrow’sSunlight,
featured on the megarare 1971
album, but was alsoa45releas efrom
Ohio’ sEstes Br os. HowIt UsedTo Be,
released by Oedipus And TheMothers
in 1967, is 60sTexaspsyche-punk at
its rawestand rarest.Previously
commerciallyunissued anywhere until
this collection is LA-based Lenny
Roberts’storming sliceof 60 sgarage
Searchin’, which is chronologically
followed by Dean Carter’sholler ‘n’
respond-typepoun ding stomper Love’s
AWorkin’. Then there’sthe mid-60s
mod beat gem, Getting TheBlues, an
album-only cut fromThe GentsInc.,
originally on theGerma nFalcon label.
With anod andawinktowards the
Smal lFaces comes SallyIDofrom
New Zealandfreakbeatoutfit
Abdu llah’s Regime,releasedin1968.
The Difference, hailing from Norway,
alsodrewinspirationfrom The Small
Faces, if theirobscureBside from
1968, Outside, isanyindicator.
Reissued as Mousetrap anniversary
single in2017,TheLost Soul,
soul-inspiredSecret Of Mine
originallyfrom 1967 is rightlyan
anthematMousetrapand pan-
European modeventseverywhere.
Closing thissuperb collection of
winners isthepsyche-stompalbum
trackIWant You, rele ased in 1965
by Tony andTerri. Ascorching
collection oftunes alreadytried and
tested as dance floor packers in
their own right,alsoataster forNew
Untouchablesregular Mousetrap
club nightsaswellaso ther
happenings such as LeBeat
Bespokeweekenders.
Sarge
80 |SCOOTE RING|AUGUST2019
