Get Ready For The Countdown - Mod, Brit Soul, R&B and Freakbeat Nuggets

An 86-track box containing a bespoke mod-friendly mix of 1960s musical styles commencing with tough British R&B from The Pretty Things and The Graham Bond Organization, taking in key tracks by mod heroes Small Faces, The Creation, and The Action, freakbeat from The Syn, soul from Mike Wade and Jon And Jeannie, and ending with a jazzy Hammond workout by The Spencer Davis Group.

A long-awaited follow-up to previous mod-inspired Strawberry label compilations Halcyon Days (2020) and I Love To See You Strut (2022) plus the RPM collections Looking Back (2011), Keep Looking (2014), and Night Comes Down (2017). Familiar names such as Laurel Aitken and The Moody Blues are joined by cult favorites including The Artwoods (featuring future Deep Purple organist Jon Lord) and John’s Children.

Eight tracks are taken from producer Joe Meek’s legendary Tea Chest Tapes, including a rarity from The Sorrows led by Don Fardon and previously unreleased recordings by mod groups The Riot Squad and The Birds Of Prey, R&B band The Classics, plus two groups whose identity is unknown. Other tracks issued for the first time here include cuts by The Fingers, Dana Gillespie, and the Jimmy Henderson Set, alongside first-time on (official) CD rarities from The Kirkbys, The Athenians, My Generation, Kevin ‘King’ Lear, Mike Wade, Magic Lanterns, and Karl Stuart and The Profiles.

TRACK LISTING DISC ONE

1. "Roadrunner" - The Pretty Things

2. "Long Tall Shorty" - The Graham Bond Organization

3. "Pretty Thing" - David John & The Mood

4. "Don't Want That (Single Version)" - The Betterdays

5. "You Don’t Love Me (You Don’t Care) Take 4" - The Classics (previously unreleased)

6. "Bye Bye Bird" - The Moody Blues

7. "I Wish You Would" - The Stylos (previously unreleased)

8. "I've Got My Eye On You" - The Mike Cotton Sound

9. "Night Train" - Unknown Group (Joe Meek Tape #734) (previously unreleased)

10. "Night Time Is The Right Time" - Ronnie Jones with Blues Incorporated

11. "I'm In Love With You Baby" - Laurel Aitken

12. "Louie, Louie" - The Athenians

13. "I’ll Try" - The Web

14. "Easy To Cry" - The Little Darlings

15. "Hoochie Koochie Man (Vocal Take 4)" - The Sorrows

16. "Can I Get A Witness (Take 1)" - Glenda Collins & The Riot Squad

17. "I Can't Stand It" - James Royal

18. "Rootin' Tootin'" - Jack Bruce

19. "Crawling Black Spider" - The Web

20. "Little Bit O' Soul" - The Little Darlings

21. "Incense" - Wynder K. Frog

22. "The Nana Song" - The Scorpions

23. "Can't Live It Down" - The Fingers (previously unreleased)

24. "Not A Girl In A Million" - Karl Stuart & The Profiles

25. "Baby What You Want Me To Do" - Tony Rivers & The Castaways

26. "The Uncle Willie" - Ray Hoff & The Offbeats

27. "She Was Really Saying Something" - The Herd

28. "Lost My Girl" - Rick and Sandy

29. "Sweet And Tender Romance" - Herbie's People

30. "I Don’t Mind" - The In Crowd

DISC TWO

1. "Get Yourself Together" - Small Faces (Mono)

2. "Cool Jerk" - The Creation (Mono)

3. "Take A Heart" - The Boys Blue

4. "Let Me In" - The Sessions

5. "Countdown" - Neil Christian

6. "Be My Lady" - The Artwoods

7. "Love" -