THE ATTACK - C.A. Quintet - GOBLIN - Set
THE ATTACK - About Time! (2006, rec. 1967-69)
The Attack were one of the better obscure British bands of the late 60s. The started out as a Mod / blue eyed soul / freakbeat combo but through almost constant lineup changes morphed into a psychedelic rock act. Later on in their existence a young John DuCann joined their ranks and they heavied up their sound. A sound which would continue into DuCann's post Attack, pre-Atomic Rooster group, Andromeda. The Attack went through more lineup changes than Deep Purple and still managed to record not one but two lps (both unreleased, one forever lost) and release four singles, Davy O'list (later of The Nice) was an early member. Why this band never caught on with the British record buying public is one of those head-scratching mysteries because the music is terrific and stands up well against the competition in retrospect. Their initial single "Try It b/w We Don't Know" is an almost perfect slice of mod pop that was every bit as good as The Move's more successful debut single "Night of Fear" which was out at the same time, for example. As the band forged ahead they released a pair of cracking psychedelic 45s the first being "Created By Clive", which is good but has a very toytown pop vibe and is backed by the incredible "Colour of My Mind" which was a lot closer to their typical, later sound. The second was "Lady Orange peel" which is very is loaded with echo and is very psychedelic and "Neville Thumbcatch" which is amazing (watch/listen below). In the end, however, it's their final recordings with the John DuCann lineup that steal the spotlight. "Go Your Way" and "Too Old" are quite heavy for the time, surprisingly heavy for being recorded in January - March 1968 and both of which would later be recorded by Andromeda. "Strange House", "Mr Pinnodmy's Dilemma" (about a deaf and blind kid, way before 'Tommy') and "Magic In The Air" are all very psychedelic. One of the weaknesses of this release overall, is that the liner notes are made up mostly of an interview with Attack mainstay Richard Shirman, who doesn't really get into this period of the band's history. He doesn't appear to have enjoyed his time with the DuCann version of the lineup and mostly glosses over it. One thing about psychedelic-era musicians who have 'grown up' shall we say, is that they are usually embarrassed of their psychedelic period. I'm not sure if that's the case with Shirman but it usually is the case. This CD was incredibly long overdue for purchasing, but I couldn't even find a copy of this disc at all for a good long time. I finally tracked it down at Record Heaven for a very reasonable 22 bucks. It was a special order item too, but it wasn't too long in coming. I'd reckon that more than half of the 19 tracks on this CD are classics in the mod / psychedelic genres of British music from the 60s.Highlights include: "Neville Thumbcatch" and "Strange House".
Rating: 5/5
