English Freakbeat, Volume 4 is a compilation album in the English Freakbeat series that has been issued in both LP and CD format. (More from Wikipedia)
I have the Sons of Fred singles on two albums in the English Freakbeat Series; both sides of their 1965 single, “I, I, I Want Your Lovin’” and “She Only Wants a Friend” are the opening tracks on the English Freakbeat, Volume 3 CD (and are also included on the English Freakbeat, Volume 3 LP); and three more of their songs are on the English Freakbeat, Volume 4 CD (but not on the English Freakbeat, Volume 4 LP) – all but “You Told Me”. “You Told Me” is included on the Rare 60’s Beat Treasures, Volume 5 CD and also a later compilation album called Magic Spectacles.
(March 2014/2)
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As with past UARB the Sons of Fred, I learned about this month’s Under-Appreciated Rock Band, the Soul Agents through the albums in the English Freakbeat Series. The English Freakbeat, Volume 2 CD includes a song made famous by Muddy Waters, “I Just Wanna Make Love to You” plus the flip side of a later single, the organ-driven instrumental “Gospel Train”. The English Freakbeat, Volume 4 CD has three more songs, “Don’t Break it Up”, “Mean Woman Blues” and “I Just Wanna Make Love to You” again. Apparently the intention was to include “Let’s Make it Pretty Baby” on the earlier CD (it was included on the English Freakbeat, Volume 2 LP); Greg Shaw says that it was his favorite among their songs in the liner notes for the English Freakbeat, Volume 2 CD.
(May 2014)
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I putzed around in my stacks looking for a band who was clearly influenced by the Rolling Stones – the way that my “two-fer” from a few months ago was, the Richmond Sluts and Big Midnight – but I couldn’t find one right away. So I decided to go back to the mother lode of English beat bands, the English Freakbeat series that Greg Shaw put together, where I have found several other previous UARB’s. Sadly, these albums (both vinyl and CD) have been out of print for many years, but there are used copies available here and there.
Anyway, I found one right away: the Primitives. That’s the Primitives with the crazy hair in the middle of the cover of the English Freakbeat, Volume 4 CD; the caption inside the booklet says: “The Primitives get their hair done!”).
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Mal Ryder and the Spirits made three singles from 1963 to 1965; a fourth single came out in Mal Ryder’s name individually. The first two 45’s, “Cry Baby” b/w “Take Over”, and the Bobby Goldsboro song “See the Funny Little Clown” b/w “Slow Down” were both produced by Peter Sullivan, who was also Tom Jones’ producer in that time period. The song that Greg Shaw thought was the strongest of these songs, “Forget It” (from November 1964) is included on two CD’s that I have, English Freakbeat, Volume 1 and English Freakbeat, Volume 4. As far as I am concerned, this bouncy R&B song with gruff, throaty vocals stacks up well with all of the Primitives material that I have heard.
Of the songs that I have heard, the deceptively languid “Johnny No” is my favorite Primitives song and is included on the English Freakbeat, Volume 4 CD. The mix of foreign-language lyrics and an English tag line reminds me of the delightful 1980 song “Is Vic There?” by the British band Department S; I once had the “French version” of the song on a small punk rock CD that I stumbled on in a bargain bin. Evidently there was the regular English version and also an Italian version.
(May 2015)
