Customer Reviews

The British Are Coming

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While this is really not a bad compilation you cannot help but feel a bit cheated when you realize that there are only 51 minutes of music on this disc. Otherwise, "The British Are Coming Vol.1" does not disappoint. It is a real nice mix of Top 10 Singles, some long lost 45's and a handful of largely unfamiliar songs that did not chart in the U.S. but were pretty big hits in the UK.
Among the Top Ten singles you'll enjoy are The Kinks with "You Really Got Me", the huge 1969 hit "Baby, Now That I've Found You" from the Foundations and the #1 instrumental hit "Telstar" by The Tornados. Also included are nicely remastered versions of "Reflections of My Life" by Marmalade as well as one of the best pop records of the entire 1960's "Here Comes My Baby" by the Tremeloes. In the category of lost 45's it was fun to hear the wild and weird "Pictures of Matchstick Men" by The Status Quo for the first time in quite a while and the Alan Price Set's version of Screamin' Jay Hawkins "I Put A Spell On You". Although this disc did make a brief appearance on the U.S. pop charts I had never seen the record before and for that matter I had never even heard it. Nice tune. Rounding out this collection are a couple of hits that were big winners on the British charts including a knockoff of the Tokens "He's In Town" by a group called the Rockin' Berries and an interesting effort from The Sorrows entitled "Take A Heart". Perhaps the most fascinating track on the disc is an early effort from one David Bowie. "I Dig Everyone" just might be the most pop sounding track I have ever heard the man sing. "The British Are Coming Vol 1" also includes a nicely done 12 page booklet. And the remastering job is more than adequate. As I mentioned earlier it is really disappointing that another half dozen tunes could not have been included. For those who would like to hear more of this stuff Sanctuary is offering a more complete 3 disc set that is available at Amazon. But for most, "The British Are Coming Vol. 1" should be more than adequate. This collection is lots of fun and as such I am happy to recommend it.

Not only does it look like you had to have to recorded with Pye Records in the early 1960s to get on this collection of rock songs representing the British Invasion, but your songs actually had to be played on this side of the pond. That explains why the Overlanders, the group I am currently pushing for the title of the best of the forgotten groups of the aforementioned invasion, are not represented on this first volume in "The British Are Coming" series.

There is a big effort here to get this collection off on the right foot, so that the biggest names and most recognizable songs come right off the bat with "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks, "Love Potion Number Nine" by the Searchers," "Catch the Wind" by Donovan, and "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry. But with "Pictures of Matchstickmen" by Status Quo we are off in the more eclectic tracks on the album. Although I was quite familiar with the song, I suspect most people will not and the chief attraction of this album is going to be how many other songs that you have vague but fond memories about can be found here.

My long stated criteria for such collections has been whether you can come up with five tracks you do not have in your music library worth the having. Even if you have all of the better-known tracks that begin (and end) this collection of 18 songs chances are you can bag your limit. "Tossing and Turning" by the Ivy League, "Here Comes My Baby" by the Tremeloes, "Reflections of My Life" by Marmalade, and "Sugar and Spice" by the Searchers are all prime choices to make the cut. You also have an extremely early song by David Bowie ("I Dig Everything") and a song other than "Build Me Up Buttercup" by the Foundation ("Baby, Now That I've Found You").


"The British Are Coming" achieves a nice bookend effect by bringing out the other songs that will be most familiar at the end, with the Kinks doing "A Well Respected Man," Alan Price's "I Put a Spell On You" (back in vogue because of jeans commercial on the tube), and "Telstar" by the Tornadoes. "Colours" by Donovan is not included in this list simply because this is a different version than the one we know from his greatest hits album (single voice track), so it has to be mentioned on its own merit for that reason.

The Tremeloes get two bites of the apple with "Silence Is Golden," and if there is a "new" group to notice on this album it would be them. Both of the songs here were big hits on both sides of the pond and with their first track reminding you of the Hollies or the Monkees and their second of the Beach Boys or the Four Seasons, their vocal pop harmonies should have made them more of a name. Fortunately there is a hits collection out there that you can check out if they pique your interest as they have mine.

There have been various "British Invasion" compilations released over the years from this great music era of the mid-1960s. Some compilations feature "the original hits by the original artists," while others are of the "new stereo recordings by one or more members of the original group" variety. Fortunately, this 18 track collection from Sanctuary Records falls into the former category of original recordings.

"The British Are Coming, Volume 1" (the first of, possibly, four CDs) is very similar to Rhino's excellent "British Invasion" series of the early 1990s. The big difference is that Sanctuary focuses on the catalog of Pye Records, which it owns. What that means for the listener is that you won't find quite as wide a range of artists as on the Rhino series, but you'll still find The Kinks, The Searchers, The Tremeloes, Petula Clark, The Foundations, early Donovan, and even some very early (circa 1966) David Bowie, among others. This is an interesting compilation in that it features instantly recognizeable tunes like "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks and "Love Potion Number 9" by The Searchers alongside some more obscure releases (at least in the U.S.) like the Alan Price Set's rendition of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell On You."

The booklet included with the CD provides a little history for each of the performers and the songs included, and nicely puts the music in the context of the era. This CD will certainly appeal to "British Invasion" fans, oldies collectors, and those who want to go back to the roots of rock 'n roll, British style. I can't wait for Volume 2.

This is more of an overall review, as I bought both Volume 1 and Volume 2 separately.

Volume 2 is much, much better (4 stars). Vol. 2 has better songs and is definitely worth the price. Vol. 1, though, is not worth the price (2 stars).

I personally think they should have taken the best songs from both and crammed a full 70+ minutes onto one disc. Then it would've been a five-star CD!

Or you could buy Volume 2 and a Best of the Kinks and you'd be set!

This collection tries to appeal to two difference audiences and fails to truly saitsfy either one. For the casual fan looking for the big hits of the Sixties, there is simply too much unfamiliar material here. For the fanatic looking for something besides the umpteenth repackaging of the familiar hits and longing for some of the lesser known British Invasion-era artists, there is too much of the former and not enough of the latter. For every "You Really Got Me" (a Top Ten hit by the Kinks), there's a "Tossing and Turning" by the Ivy League (which didn't chart outside the U.K.). Among many of the artists featured twice, you get one of their big hits and then a lesser known single. For example, most Amercian listeners will recognize "Love Potion Number Nine" by the Searchers and "Catch the Wind" by Donovan. But many won't recognize "Sugar and Spice" or "Colours" which were both Top Ten UK hits, but failed to chart on this side of the Atlantic.

There's also a bit of a problem with the time frame on this set. The British Invasion began with the arrival of the Beatles in America in early 1964. Yet this set includes the 1962 chart topper "Telstar" by the Tornados. Was there still a British Invasion in 1970? That's when Marmalade took "Reflections of My Life" into the Top Ten.

With those quarrels aside, there are some pleasant surprises here. You get a pre-Animals cover of "I Put a Spell on You" by the Alan Price Set and a 1966 failed single from a 19-year-old David Bowie, "I Dig Everything." So, if you're looking to go beyond the familiar hits, but only want to get your feet wet, this is a good place to start. RECOMMENDED