{"id":232,"date":"2010-05-12T05:38:58","date_gmt":"2010-05-12T10:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=232"},"modified":"2016-02-02T21:44:42","modified_gmt":"2016-02-02T21:44:42","slug":"album-review-after-tonight-ember-beat-vol-3-1966-67","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2010\/05\/12\/album-review-after-tonight-ember-beat-vol-3-1966-67\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: After Tonight: Ember Beat Vol. 3 (1966-67)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The third and final in Fantastic Voyage’s survey of UK beat music, After Tonight<\/em> takes a look at singles from beat (and beat-related) artists on the indie Ember label in 1966 and 1967. Like its two predecessors (Tell Me<\/a><\/em> and Done Me Wrong<\/a><\/em>), After Tonight<\/em> compiles a- and b-sides that haven’t shown up on other collections. And like those sets, there are some weak numbers, some good tracks and some heretofore undiscovered gems.<\/p>\n

What there isn’t is any music from Chad & Jeremy<\/strong>. See those earlier sets to get your fill of them. Instead After Tonight<\/em> serves up artists like The Clockwork Oranges<\/strong>, who — despite their trendy moniker — are neither menacing nor (this reviewer believes) British. Interesting, though.<\/p>\n

Heavier, more aggressive sounds were storming the charts by ’66, yet many of the sides on After Tonight<\/em> lean toward the standard pop fare. But just when the listener gets lulled into complacency by an insipid number like Ray Singer<\/strong>‘s “Look in Your Eyes,” along comes a swaggering number like “Ah Oop” by…Ray Singer. Surprise.<\/p>\n

The arrangement on Just Five<\/strong>‘s “I Will Have You” suggests that UK musicians were listening to American folk-rock artists like the Beau Brummels<\/strong>. And the out-of-tune guitars on “Answers Please” by Luvin’ Kind<\/strong> makes this listener wonder — just for a brief second — if any of those ultra-rare Green Fuz<\/a><\/strong> singles made it across the Atlantic. And lyrics like “how about the gamma rays, my friend” serve up shades of another Texas legend, Roky Erickson<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Covers are more in evidence on After Tonight<\/em> than on earlier volumes. A horn-laden “(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet” from The Fadin’ Colours<\/strong> is surprisingly effective, especially when the surprising (yet frustratingly brief) fuzztone guitar solo kicks in. But that group’s “Billy Christian” is pop-skiffle. With Herb Alpert<\/strong>-styled horns, no less.<\/p>\n

Bobby Johnson & the Atoms<\/strong> cover Procol Harum<\/strong>‘s “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” adding little or nothing of value. But the other sides by that group offer a pleasing cross between pop and r&b. The shamelessness of covering the Monkees<\/strong>‘ theme (here by a studio concoction dubbed the Peenuts<\/strong>) is surpassed only by that record’s picture sleeve (reproduced in After Tonight<\/em>‘s booklet) depicting the actual Monkees.<\/p>\n

The Fadin’ Colours were either an incredibly versatile group or a name applied to whomever was in the studio. Because “Be With Me” sounds nothing like the earlier previously discussed sides. It sounds instead like a great lost Rolling Stones<\/strong> number, as does “You’re No Use.” Both tracks ranks as must-hear.<\/p>\n

With an excitement quotient a slight notch below its predecessors, After Tonight<\/em> remains well worth seeking out. As a collection of relatively unknown artists performing unheard music, After Tonight<\/em> is — like the two earlier volumes in the series — superb.<\/p>\n

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