What A State I'm In: The Psych-Pop Sessions

This is one delightfully strange, even revelatory compilation CD, a cross-section of the Tremeloes' music devoted exclusively neither to hits nor to rarities — rather, the producers have culled the strangest, most uncharacteristic sides by the band from four years of sessions, with the emphasis on psychedelic sounds, ranging from the Beatlesque psychedelic pop of "Willow Tree" to the dissonant, feedback-laced, volume-pedal, and fuzz box-soaked "Hard Time" (which by itself will be worth the price of admission for fans of Rick West's guitar playing). In between those two poles are a large handful of tracks that would qualify as unabashed freakbeat classics, starting with the 1966-vintage B-side "What a State I'm In," which offers pop hooks, freakout guitar runs, a catchy chorus, and a snide punk attitude worthy of the Creation or even the Who. And speaking of the Who, "Let Your Hair Hang Down" offers Dave Munden playing about as much like Keith Moon as anyone ever got, in addition to filling the room with a spacy chorus. And while mentioning associates of Pete Townshend, the next track, the number two British single titled "(Call Me) Number One," does sound like a spacier follow-up to Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air." The driving, electric 12-string-soaked youth anthem "Gentlemen of Pleausure" (astonishingly, the B-side of "There Goes My Baby") belonged in a movie about the psychedelic scene in swinging London, while "Shake Hands (And Come Out Crying)" is a weird-ass freakbeat adaptation of the central riff from the Byrds' "Feel a Whole Lot Better" (which was, in turn, lifted from the Searchers' version of "Needles and Pins"). Just about the only track that doesn't belong in these surroundings is "Be Mine," which is a little too pop-oriented. The mastering is impeccable, state-of-the-art resolution at a good high volume, and the annotation very thorough, though filled with odd typos that lead one to believe it wasn't edited.