VA - Heroes And Villains: The Sound Of Los Angeles 1965-68 (2022)

After The Beatles captivated a generation with their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Los Angeles music scene moved beyond the previously-dominant surf, hot-rod and girl group discs to fashion a spirited response to the British Invasion.

Hollywood studios and the Sunset Strip teen clubs played host to a thrilling assortment of bands, with such names as The Byrds, Sonny And Cher and the increasingly ambitious Brian Wilson leading the charge as LA established itself in 1965 as America's leading music city. The scene moved on to encompass Psychedelia, Sunshine Pop and Proto-Hard Rock before August 1969's horrific Tate-LaBianca murders traumatised LA's music community and brought the freewheeling ‘60s to a shocking, apocalyptic end.

‘Heroes and Villains: The Sound of LA 1965-68’ charts the entire cataclysmic scene, with classic hits from The Monkees, Paul Revere And The Raiders, The Association and The Grass Roots joined by vital cuts from Love, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, The Mothers Of Invention, Captain Beefheart, Buffalo Springfield and The Mamas And The Papas.

Featuring enduring cult names (Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Seeds, Electric Prunes), the new breed of Singer-Songwriter (Tim Buckley, Nilsson), the emerging wave of Heavy bands (Steppenwolf, Iron Butterfly), nascent Country-Rockers (Gene Clark, Stone Poneys, Gram Parsons' International Submarine Band) and studio-based, Beach Boys-inspired harmony Pop acts (Sagittarius, The Millennium, The Parade).

In among the unreleased-at-the-time demos, alternative versions and first-time releases, there’s a raft of hugely obscure Garage Punk 45s – many from bands now stepping forward to tell their story for the first time, including The Satans (the notorious 'Makin' Deals'), Somebody's Chyldren (Hollywood legend Mae West's backing band on her brace of 1966 albums), The Prophets of Old, The Heros and The Odds And Ends.