Search - Various Artists :: History of British Rock 5

What are you guys complaining about? This disc is great...

Jeff Pearlman | Lakeland, FL USA | 06/18/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Actually this whole series is awesome. Looking at Vol. 5 in particular, though, I'm seeing 4 U.S. #1 hits, by the Tornados, Pet Clark, the Mindbenders, and Donovan. Pretty diverse. Rhino circumvents Capitol's oppressive licensing restrictions to bring us 2 hard-to-find, early Beatles singles recorded for other labels. (The other reviewers are right, however. Using Ringo's pic is misleading since he wasn't in the group then.) There are goodies by the three grand dames of British rock--Pet, Dusty Springfield (get her solo albums too), and Lulu. For pure rock classicism, if there is such a thing, there are 2 (count 'em) by Them. That's Van Morrison to most of us (but the drummer on "Gloria," likely Patrick McAuley, deserves equal credit). And the Moody Blues, before they went all symphonic, with "Go Now!", which they left off their first twelve greatest hits albums. You know you need "It's Not Unusual", kitsch of the highest order and I think the only Tom Jones hit on this whole series. One of the long-term pleasures of this series is the one- and two-hit wonders like Georgie Fame, the Bachelors, and the Big Three. In all seriousness, these make the series invaluable. True pop music fans should be buying the Beatles, Stones, and Who albums separately anyway; those groups' absences leave room for the lost classics that Rhino specializes in preserving on discs like this one. This mix of melodic rock and pop and, umm, Chad and Jeremy needs to be owned by everyone."

A mixed bag, but..

gordon@ruraltel.net | 12/29/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In 1988, Rhino released four volumes of the British Invasion. These were great (even w.o. the Beatles, Stones, DC5 and early Animals), and probably led to this expansion to 9 volumes. Actually, Volume 5 is the weakest of the lot, and IS all over the map. But it does compile some great sides, and there ARE unfamiliar/undiscovered jems: "Shout" by Lulu, "Before and After" by Chad & Jeremy, "I Think Of You" by the Merseybeats, "Everything's Allright" by the Mojosm and "Yeh,Yeh" by Georgie Fame. If you're really interesteed in 60s British pop, you'll want to hear these, and I guarantee you'll have a hard time finding these elsewhere. I highly reccomend the first four volumes of this series; I would give each of them 5 stars. Get those first. But if you're really into British pop, you'll want this, despite the inclusion of a dud like My Bonnie by Tony Sheridan (with "those guys"). Have to believe that this was a sin committed to have the Beatles included in the series. Greedy Capital wasn't going to let Rhino lease any of THEIR material. Also, the next four volumes improve on this one."

Having All In The Series Will Give You Most Of The Best

gordon@ruraltel.net | 09/22/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As indicated in my reviews of Volumes 1 and 2, the Rhino/Capitol/EMI collaboration was an ambitious one in those early days of CDs, and if you can get your hands on all nine volumes you will have most of the major impact selections by artists in those heady days of the British Invasion.



However, in this fifth installation they continue their habit of including selections by artists who were certainly NOT among the prominent ones to take part in the so-called invasion. Only displaced Brits will have heard of The Big Three [track 4], The Mojos [track 7], The Pretty Things [track 11], and The Merseybeats [track 16]. Also, while it's nice to hear Van Morrison in his Them incarnation on Gloria, why include the B-side [track 10] instead of, say, Here Comes The Night?



On the other hand, it's great to get two early Beatles' cuts like Ain't She Sweet [recorded in 1961 and released in 1964 in North America by Atco - # 19] and My Bonnie which, with Tony Sheridan, was recorded in 1962 and released here by MGM in 1964 [# 26], along with hard-to-find selections such as Shout by Lulu & The Luvers [# 94 in 1964 before she embarked upon a solo career], You've Got Your Troubles by The Fortunes [# 7 in 1965], and Georgie Fame's Yeh Yeh [# 21 in 1965].



Ten pages of liner notes by John Mendelssohn are interspersed with small b&w photos of The Beatles, Fame, Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders, Petula Clark, The Bachelors, The Moody Blues, The Merseybeats [at least we get to know what they LOOKED like], and Donovan.



As with the other volumes the AAD sound reproduction ranges from adequate to excellent."