It's Hard To Believe It: The Amazing World Of Joe Meek

Various Artists - Rock - Vintage Rock & Roll | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 19, 1995)
• Original Release Date: September 13, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Razor & Tie
• ASIN: B000002Z9G
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,132 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Telstar

2. Johnny Remember Me

3. Tribute to Buddy Holly

4. Chick a 'Roo

5. Night of the Vampire

6. Paradise Garden

7. My Friend Bobby

8. Swingin' Low

9. Valley of the Saroos

10. The Bublight

11. 'Til the Following Night

12. Just Like Eddie

13. North Wind

14. Huskie Team

15. Have I the Right?

16. My Baby Doll

17. Something I've Got to Tell You

18. I Take It That We're Through

19. Lost Planet

20. It's Hard to Believe It

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Intro to Joe Meek, but Don't Stop Here, July 26, 2001

By 

Randall E. Adams (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's Hard To Believe It: The Amazing World Of Joe Meek (Audio CD)

If I had to put together a 20 song sampler to introduce the uninitiated to Joe Meek's music, I would include most of the tracks found on this disc. I would leave off a few such as "Hot Chick-a-Roo" which is lame and forgettable. I would also leave off "Paradise Garden" which is amusingly overblown but just not in the first rank of Meek work. I would definitely include "Little Baby" by the Blue Rondos, recognized by ALL Meek freaks as one of his great classics. As much as I love "Something I've Got to Tell You" by Glenda Collins, I would probably favor her "I Left My Heart at the Fairground" for this introductory offering. I would include something by the Flee-Rekkers in preference over one of the instrumentals included here. I would not have included two tracks from "I Hear a New World;" one is sufficient. Famous as he was, Screaming Lord Sutch wasn't much to listen to, so I would have left him off.

So, what is my point? Buy this disc and begin the astonishing journey into the paraworld of Joe Meek, but bear in mind that there is MUCH MORE great stuff out there in this man's prolific catalogue...

Razor & Tie have done a pretty decent job of selecting material, giving the obvious choices for the American market, the stateside hits "Telstar" and "Have I the Right" and the uncontestable classics unknown to the U.S. "Johnny Remember Me" and "Tribute to Buddy Holly." They include one of the underrated Riot Squad sides. They have done a fair job of exhibiting the wide range of music promulgated by Meek's little DIY studio, except for the later mid-60s material which gets a bit of a short shrift here.

Buy this disc and have fun. Joe Meek is the man who got people in the studio to think of doing the things that made records like "Sgt. Pepper" possible.

For other good collections of individual Meek artists, check Amazon's listings for The Outlaws (scroll way down past the entries for the later American group of the same name), The Flee Rekkers, Glenda Collins, Heinz, Michael Cox, Houston Wells, Mike Berry, The Dowlands. Be aware that some of these collections may no longer be available but buy them if you can.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Murderous Musicians review the GREAT PRODUCER, October 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: It's Hard To Believe It: The Amazing World Of Joe Meek (Audio CD)

Joe Meek was the most important figure in British music in the 1960's, bar none. Without his innovative recording tecniques, thousands of bands would never have existed. This album contains a tiny fraction of his output, most recorded in his two floor flat on London's Holloway Road, with accoustics often eminating from the bathroom. This is true genius, and individuality, forget the songs, just remember the huge potential this tortured figure unleashed before his tragic death on the anniversary of Buddy Holly's death in 1967. Rest in peace Joe, dreams do come true.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Punchy, Eerie, British Pop, November 15, 2006

By 

Sound Cleanser "soundcleanser" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's Hard To Believe It: The Amazing World Of Joe Meek (Audio CD)

This is THE place to start for those interested in Joe Meek productions. Most Meek productions have a punchy, eerie, haunting quality to them that continues to resonate. Meek's productions were so interesting in themselves that he's able to make the occasional lesser material shine. Joe Meek was no ordinary record producer-he constantly experimented with all aspects of music production.

Incidently, the very first New Wave record production (Though not on this disc) is perhaps Meek's production of "Can't Get Through To You" by The Honeycombs, released as a B-side in 1965. Fascinating.