REVIEW: Raw Mod – The New Kind Of People 1965- 1968

When you think of traditional Mod music from the 1960’s there are a number of bands that come to mind, no doubting the following feature; The Action, The Small Faces, The Who, The Artwoods, Georgie Fame, The Creation, The Clique…the list could go on. Whilst all of these bands are all very well and will go on entertaining the eyes and ears for many years to come, as they have been doing since the invent of Mods or Moderns or Modernism, to hear something new of this period is as refreshing as unpackaging a freshly delivered button down shirt.

Raw Mod released on single CD, which comes with a 24 page booklet, and vinyl, which comes with a 16 page booklet, via the exceptional Top Sounds Records, Nigel Lees masterpiece label, have yet again delved into the archives of the vastly unknown to release a quite breath-taking compilation, littered with extensive liner notes, memorabilia and a heartful of soul. Whilst some of the bands in the collection might not consider themselves to be strictly mod, the overall sound of the collection defiantly springs to mind the feeling of Mod and what young Mods might have been listening to in and around 1965-1968.

The set opens with The Yardbirds I Wish You Would covered by The Tamasins, sounding like a mash up of The Artwoods and The Seeds, perfection. The King Bees are next up with their haunting harmonic fuzz guitar version of In The Midnight Hour, The Shanes Talking About My Baby opens like an early Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band tune, whilst their cover of belting Mod classic I’m Leaving Here has your mind dizzy in a spin of 60’s giddiness.

The Sovereign Group Loving You Girl have hints of Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd, The Corpus Soul with their organ lead stomp Thinking About You has tinges of Van Morrison’s Them, 27^th All Star The Original Doris Dog befits the bill of a mash up of Night of Fear period The Move and The Scots of St James, The Kontax Near Me, which features on a previous release on Top Sounds deserves special mention as a stand out track with it’s back / forth echoing vocals over a stunning revolving like northern soul backing track.

Final delights in the collection include The Chaos New Kind Of People which has a superb unknown singer with a rasping blues voice in the same vein as Otis Redding, The Jokers Wilde Say Those Magic Words delves into those similar jaunty rhythm’s of The Clique She Aint No Good, The Kontax return with a unstoppable bass heavy soul feast cover Hold On I’m Coming whilst The Poor Boys strike gold with their horn laden organ Amen Corner-esque What Does She Want.

I’ve compared many of the bands to more familiar bands and tunes you may know and love, the real trick to discovering this collection is to go buy and enjoy it yourself. Nigel Lees deserves some sort of medal or maybe a packet of Parma Violets for his constant mind boggling efforts. 3 cheers for Mr Lees, hip hip…!

Raw Mod can be purchased via the following link