Customer Reviews

Rolled Gold

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Action were a Britsh mod band of the mid-sixties. A couple of years later, they recorded a bunch of demos for an album that never materialized. This disc contains those songs. And don't let the term "demo" scare you away. The sound quality is good to excellent and the tunes are pretty fully realized.

I've seen this disc described as psychedelic, though that's only true in the very broadest of terms. Hucksters will throw around that word to sell anything. No, this is a pop rock record that, in many ways, seems to be the logical next step for the band. In fact, the drumming still sounds very mod-like to me. Matthew Sweet and Beachwood Sparks provide testemonials in the liners, if that gives you an idea of the disc's overall sound.

There are a lot of winners here. "Icarus" and "Brain" seem to garner the most attention but "Something to Say", a simply wonderful song, is my personal favorite. I mean really, you should hear this stuff to appreciate it.

I always love discovering lost gems that I never knew existed. This one falls squarely into that category.

The earlier stuff by the Action -- who achieved notoriety through the support of Beatles' producer George Martin -- was your standard collection of guitar-driven, English mid-60s interpretations of American R&B tunes, but in 1968, the world was changing, and the Action changed along with it.

Like their contemporaties the Who and the Small Faces, the Action began to move away from traditional mod melodies like "I'll Keep Holding On" to more expansive pieces like "Come Around," "Brain" and "Strange Roads."

What results is not a full "mod" or "psychedelic" collection, but a fantastic collage of great British pop that can hold its own with the big stars of the era (Beatles, Kinks, etc). Each song gets better after each listen.

The songs on Rolled Gold were recorded as demos for an upcoming album but never released. Thankfully, they were remastered and repackaged as a CD with liner notes from band members and modern-day popsters like Matthew Sweet and Brent Rademaker of Beechwood Sparks.

In fact, listening to this disc immediately draws parallels to many indie pop icons of the present day, most notably Robert Pollard and his Guided by Voices. I don't even know if these artists intentionally drew their work from that of the Action's Rolled Gold days, but the parallels are striking.

Placing this CD in my player with the Kinks "Arthur" and the Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour" will complete your fun trip through edgy psychedelic pop of a time long gone.

For you newcomers, The Action was a short-lived English pop band that existed from 1966-68. Even though the band officially released five singles and their number one fan was famed record producer George Martin, The Action never quite got off the ground. That's a shame because most of the tracks on this compilation CD are good, if not some are actually out-standing. The band's best assets are their catchy lyrics, creative guitar playing and musical surprises every now & again. Most notable tunes here are the cleverly arranged "Strange Roads", "Something To Say", "Brain", the energetic "Look At The View", "Climbing Up The Wall", the mod gem "Little Boy" and should-have-been-a-hit "Follow Me". At one time, their rival bands were (sort to speak) The Who, Creation and Q 65. A definite should-have.

I was quite surprised by this CD. I first heard of the Action from the Nuggets II boxed set. It was definitely a mod-oriented sound. One day I picked up Mighty Baby's first album and was surprised to learn that they were composed of many of the musicians from the Action.

This is clearly an album of transition - the music leans toward psychedlia while Reg King's vocals remind me of early action. The use of harmonies are very well done and the production is also quite good. If you like this you should definitely check out Mighty Baby!!

Anyways...here's my indiv track scores.
1. Come Around - 5
2. Something to Say - 5
3. Love is All - 4
5. Icarus - 5
6. Strange Roads - 5
7. Things you Cannot see - 5
6. Brain - 4
7. Look at the View - 4
8. Climbing Up the Wall - 4
9. Really Doesn't Matter - 5
10. I'm a Stranger - 4.5
11. Little Boy - 2 (I don't like this song)
12. Follow Me - 5
13. In My Dream + demo - 5

A Very good album!!

What a great album. Just recently discovered this band and fell in love with them. To bad they didn't stick it out alittle longer would have loved to see what they could have done.

As a self proclaimed coinsurer and collector of lost mid to late 60's and early 70's quality psychedelic & serious pop music, I was completely blown away the first time I listened to The Action's "Rolled Gold" CD. I am baffled that a band this good somehow got overlooked or escaped attention. The song melodies are so addictive and listenable that they continue to play in your head for hours afterwards, and this is not to say that the songs are simple and repetitious in nature. Quite the opposite, the songs often have numerous and complex key transitions but they all fit together smoothly. Not a whole lot of bands back then had the musical savvy and skills to pull this off and still sound fluent. The Beatles, Hollies, Spirit, Yes, and early Traffic were a few of the good bands that could, and The Action fits right in with the best of these bands. A few of my favorites are "Come Around", "Something to Say", "Things You Cannot See", and the especially addictive "Strange Roads" with it's swoopy and loopy guitar riffs! My biggest disappointment has been the knowledge that I didn't discover them until now. No kidding!

Having failed to break out of the clubs as a mod band in the mid-60s (despite sponsorship from George Martin and a deal with EMI), the Action entered 1967 with some heavier sounds in mind. Their Small Faces-like R&B sound was still at the core, particularly in Reggie King's vocals, but their compositions, playing and production had been liberated by the flourishing acid culture. These aren't the studio-crafted sounds of the Beatles' Revolver or the minor-key brilliance of The Zombies, but they're of the same stripe.

The songs were no longer rave-up trifles for pilled-out dancers, and the lyrics weren't aimed at the radio. One could draw a parallel to San Francisco's Moby Grape, in that the Action balanced depth and brevity. In contrast to the Fillmore-styled hippie jams that would prevail later in the year, the Action managed to free up their instrumental playing with flights of psychedelic guitar and song structures that went beyond verse-chorus-verse, but at the same kept to three- and four-minutes. This is the sound of what was coming in "Odyssey and Oracle," "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake," "S.F. Sorrow," and other touchstones of the era.

As others have noted, there's a transitional quality to these tracks, one foot in the mod clubs and one foot into the psych world of UFO and the Haight-Ashbury. Amazingly, these recordings were shelved by EMI, and only rumored to exist until their release 35 years later. So while they appeal as missing links in retrospect, they didn't actually have any first-hand impact. Today they retain their magic and power, even more impressively for being demos rather than finished tracks. The playing is a bit rough in spots and the sound quality isn't as sparkling as EMI was capable of recording in 1967, but those are trifles - this still sounds fantastic. 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]

If you like late 60s British rock-psych, tough-not-fey production/vibe, white-soulful vox, and mixing electric/acoustic elements (think: a cross among BEATLES + ZOMBIES + TRAFFIC + SMALL FACES, even a lil' BYRDS feel occasionally), you shimply MUSHT try ROLLED GOLD, which compares to the cream of these groups' output!!

-"the Ac-WHO-"!? you might well say...'Where have they been all our life?'; 'A gem beyond price has languished all these years unsavored,' we repeat nearly speechless. Not since our belated introductions to Moondog...Skip Bifferty...Billy Nicholls...Stones' "Metamorphosis"...Dantalian's Vehicule...

It can easily be yours.

We very rarely care to replay any c.d. over and over but this one warrants such: well-crafted blend of nonchalance poetry and passion, delicacy and yarbles, hooks and chops and pacing and SONGS up there with the legends. The news that this cohesive album was only DEMO'S* ('haps fortuitous in retrovision) catapults one's estimation higher still.

Singer Reg King: on ROLLED'S strength his visage deserves a spot on some Rushmore-in-Avalon alongside fellow soulful Brits Winwood/ Marriott/ Reid/ Lloyd/ Stewart...: just hoarse enough/just sweet enough (+ a 'secret': optimal use throughout of unison doubletracking)...perfection.

ROLLED GOLD'S production is on the raw/monoish/hotly-compressed side-- a flute/piano occasionally to augment the basic guitar quartet formula & keep things unexpected-- suiting the songs & performances to a Tee (just to offer another clue to their magic brew).

Homey's in no way related to any bandmember...

I would urge any fan of great mid 60's + music to get this. There's enough of their earlier sound to appeal to the mod/soul crowd but this cd shows the band moving off into their own zone away from the soul covers they did so well. Play it from start to finish and you'll want to put it on again straight away and then go tell all your mates. The demo-ish feel of the tracks adds to the experience and it must rank as one of the great mysteries why a "proper" recording was never done and put out. Singer Reg King has sadly recently passed away and it would be nice if The Action were finally given a bit of recognition for the great band they truly were. RIP Reg and Mike.

While the earlier, more popular work of the Action, produced by Sir George Martin, sold in large numbers, and is readily available elsewhere, these lattter day, unrealeased at the time, recordings show The Action to be moving toward a harder edged psychedelic sound. This disc shows the band with fuzz guitar, acid lyrics, and some wonderful effects. Definitely 5 star material. The only down side to this particular release is that it lacks the demo version of "In My Dream" included in an earlier, 1998, edition, releaed by Dig the Fuzz. "Rolled Gold" was the first release on the label. And rightly so. That very minor quibble aside, this disc is full of wonderful songs played by a talented band who would soon morph into the wonderful Mighty Baby, and in fact the cd version of Mighty Baby's debut lp includes 5 bonus tracks, all previously unreleased, by The Action, and was released on Ace's wonderful Big Beat label. This and the two further cd releases by Mighty Baby, "Jug of Love" and the very recent "Live In The Attic" are both available on the Sunbeam label. Do yourself a big favor, pick up this cd, and all the other Action/Mighty Baby releases. You won't regret it at all. In fact if you enjoy good Brit pop psych cum progressive rock you'll be very glad you did. "Rolled Gold" has nary a weak song among the 14 tracks included on this updated release and sounds wonderful. I only wish they'd included the missing demo. But that is sniping. Pick up this cd while it is still available, and get ready to rock.