VA - My Generation (15 Tracks Of '60s Beat-Filled Teenage Mod Angst) (2015)

Mojo Magazine is a great newspaper, but the compulsion to repeat certain genuflections sometimes tends to get on the nerves, especially when it comes to Who (number 261 of August 2015), but which shines with quintessential Britishness. However, the umpteenth cover for the performers of the song referred to in the title brings with it this CD which, subtitled '15 Tracks Of '60s Beat-Filled Teenage Mod Angst' lines up a handful of groups (almost) never rose to fame, but who well represent the spirit of their times in a sort of minor Nuggets: all English, with one exception, give life to a fluctuating program in quality, but overall very entertaining to listen to. Given the period, the common denominators are still blues and rhythm 'n' blues, albeit reworked from different points of view, as the initial Don't Bring Me Down of the only big name on the bill, namely the Pretty Things, immediately makes clear. Even closer to overseas models is Bo Street Runner, an eponymous song for a group in which a young Mick Fleetwood was a member, then we move towards sounds with a greater dose of pop starting from the revival of It's Not True by the New Zealanders Larry's Rebels. There is also another song signed by Pete Townsend, an It's Allright placed almost at the end that Rockin' Vickers enjoy dirtying with fuzz and distorted sounds, while the Make Up Your Mind interpreted by Mike Cotton Sound is much more rounded follows the cover that came from the antipodes. Since at the beginning of this collection the songs go two by two like the carabinieri, immediately after comes a couple strongly influenced by rhythm 'n' blues: this is true both for Number One by the Stormville Shakers, and, above all, for a Can You Hear Me signed by Allen Toussaint and in which the Artwoods sound like a version of Ray Charles (call-and-response included) with Jon Lord's organ instead of the piano. At this point there is a shift towards more distinctly psych sounds without however the results being equal to the intentions due to songs with a too thin structure. The best comes almost immediately with But She's Mine in which John's Children insufflate something disturbing thanks also to the insidious vocal part, immediately followed, alas, by a Wait For Me by Fleur De Lys which fully pays for the defect described above: in comparison, Golden Dawn succeeds better than what they lack in composition they compensate with a considerable dose of energy that ends up pleasing their My Time. Followed by the more rounded Mr You're A Better Man Than I in which the Sons of Adam display a discreet hook then we continue in more or less psychotic territories which, passing through the aforementioned It's Allright, arrive at the greetings of which the Syndicats, Steve Howe's first group, are in charge, and their all less than unforgettable Crawdaddy Simone is in charge.