Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
90 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From a time when music was magical., 25 Feb 2006
This 3 CD set is superb in every way. Thirty odd years ago I owned a double Island Sampler called "El Pea". I always regretted the fact that I no longer have a means of playing vinyl, but this box set has filled my need. It contains much of what was on El Pea and coming from Island, that most innovative of record labels, the music here is inventive and the true meaning of progressive becomes apparent. From a time when you had either singles or albums bands, most of the acts on this collection never ever had a hit recording. Most were big on the university circuit (oh those heady days). There are exceptions like Free, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Cat Stevens, Jethro Tull and Traffic, all of whom did enjoy singles chart successes. But what a joy to again hear the likes of early Mott the Hoople, Dr Strangely Strange, Quintessence and Heads, Hands and Feet. Stalwarts like King Crimson and Fairport Convention are also represented here as are the Incredible String Band and Spooky Tooth.The box set comes complete with a well written booklet and, a touch I especially like cosmetic though it is, the CD's themselves look like the old record label, an idea that seems to be growing to my delight. So I'm stuck in a time warp but who cares. When you have music of such quality I'm pleased to be a 50 something who still remembers "Sounds" and Radio One In Concert on a Saturday night fondly. The set covers Island acts from 1967 to 1972 and is a must for the discerning muci lover. Come back Chris Blackwell. We need you.
|
|
|
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strangely good, if a little weird, 10 Nov 2005
Anyone who remembers buying the Island budget albums in the late 60's and early 70's such as 'Nice Enough to Eat' and 'Bumpers' will enjoy much of the music on this excellent value triple album. It has to be said that not every track is a classic by a long way but there is enough truly original music from the early 'progressive rock' years to keep everyone happy. There are some excellent examples from the early 'Island' catalogue and tracks such as 'Northern Sky' by Nick Drake make any album worth the money. It is good to see that, although there are repetitions from those early sampler albums there are lots of tracks that were not on those albums - highlights include tracks from Fotheringay, Jethro Tull, Mott the Hoople, Blodwyn Pig and a couple of superb Traffic tracks.You may find yourself pushing the forward button occasionally but so many tracks for £12-99 you can't go wrong - great value
|
|
|
46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Eccentric selection, 26 Jan 2006
This is a somewhat eccentric selection, neatly skirting some of the best output from Island Records output in its independent period between 1962 and 1988, but including a reasonably representative selection from the artists who graced this label in the late 60s and early 70s. It is particularly strong on folk and the blues-based rock sound, championed respectively by Joe Boyd and Guy Stevens. There are some very ordinary tracks here but also some stunning ones and a few that are nicely quirky.
Amongst the highlights are the sublime "Northern Sky" by Nick Drake, "Meet on the Ledge" by Fairport Convention, "Low Spark of the High-Heeled Boys" by Traffic and "Wild World" by Cat Stevens. The quirky include excellent tracks from Heads, Hands and Feet, the original Nirvana, McDonald and Giles and one-hit wonders, Heavy Jelly. King Crimson, ELP, Spooky Tooth, Mott the Hoople and Blodwyn Pig are reasonably well represented but the track selection for Free (including a 30 sec intro) and White Noise are unrepresentative, and it would have been good to see a better choice of tracks for Jethro Tull, John Martyn and Quintessence. Still, it's nice to find artists like Art, Tramline, Alan Bown, Wynder K Frog and Clouds make it out of the vinyl age onto a widely available CD, even if you can understand why they never appealed to a wider audience.
Missing? Well it woulh have been good to see Bronco here, and Renaissance. If also produced some outstanding jazz on Island too. Perhaps there were licencing issues that precluded their inclusion. The biggest weakness of this selection, however, is the omission of reagge. Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley both released albums on Island around the period covered, and Chris Blackwell, Island's founder, originally made his name releasing reggae singles.
Minor quibbles, however. In fairness, Bob Marley never appeared on an Island sampler, and this anthology has, if anything, tried to recreate the tone of the classic Island samplers of 1969 to 1971. It is a shame that "Nice Enough to Join In", combining most of Island's first two samplers on one CD, is out of print. I also think a re-release of Bumpers or El Pea would probably have been a better ensemble piece, but what this collection lacks in consistent quality it makes up for in breadth.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Various Artists
~ Various Artists
~ Various Artists
See all 19 tracks on this disc
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Amazon Home