Spirit of Joy – Tales From the Polydor Underground 1967-1974 (compilation week)
As far as label compilations go, this three-disc profusion of prog and psychedelic prime cuts is difficult to beat.
Spirit of Joy gathers some of the better and the lesser known tracks from the considerable underground canon hosted by Polydor and its imprints during the golden age of music. From The Crazy World of Arthur Brown to Focus, stopping at such picturesque stops as Eric Burdon, Supersister, and Barclay James Harvest in between.
Despite the rare low point (is there really any need for the jazz stylings of John McLaughlin or Ginger Baker’s Air Force?), Mark Powell, who compiled the tracks and penned the extensive liner notes in the 45 page booklet, has put together a definitive retrospective of the surprisingly underground output of the traditionally overground label.
Disc 1 is the highlight with a strong psychedelic and progressive mix. Kicking off with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown’s ‘Nightmare‘, quickly followed by the perennial ‘Fire’, the pace doesn’t let up. Familiar outings such as Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity’s ‘Wheels on Fire’ and Eric Burdon’s ‘Good Times‘, rub shoulders with early Van der Graaf Generator, ‘People You Were Going To’ and the manic ‘Firebrand’; Aphrodite’s Child, ‘Magic Mirror’; The Soft Machine, ‘Feelin, Reelin, Squealin’; Rory Gallagher’s Taste, ‘Born on the Wrong Side of Time’; and The Creation, ‘How Does It Feel to Feel’, among others.
This disc also features ‘Sunshine Day’ the debut single by Jethro Tull, which, in an act of defiance by producer Derek Lawrence, was attributed to Jethro Toe. Less psychedelic, but equally present, is ‘Dogs’, The Who’s wonderful ode to greyhounds, female dog handlers and beer.
Disc 2. Psychedelia gives way to the more progressive meanderings in, what for me is, the weakest link in this triumvirate of triumph. That said, it’s still a cracking good listen with plenty worth shouting about. Supersister and Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come both put in strong showings with two tracks apiece, while the Pink Fairies’ faintly disturbing ‘War Girl’, Audience’s ‘The Banquet’ and The Who’s ‘Amazing Journey’ all maintain the high standard.
There’s even room for Thunderclap Newman’s ‘Something in the Air‘. Hardly underground, but this jaunty, listen-with-mother paean to revolution is harmless enough and provides light distraction from the heavier fare demonstrated elsewhere.
Disc 3 wrings dry the acid-soaked psychedelic towel, instead flinging a handful of classic prog acts, and even some krautrock noodlings, at the wall.
Following a rousing start from the Pink Fairies and their prelude to sedition, ‘Right On, Fight On‘, the stage is given over to some of the cream of progressive rock, with Rare Bird, Medicine Head and Golden Earring all in fine form. Faust provides the aforementioned krautrock with the frankly bonkers ‘Meadow Meal’, while Spirit of Joy is given its undoubted highlights in the form of Web’s haunting ‘I, Spider’, the mighty Barclay James Harvest’s reworking of the Bee Gees similarly titled ‘The Great 1974 Mining Disaster’, and the always welcome Focus with their barking mad classic ‘Hocus Pocus‘.
Spirit of Joy undoubtedly lives up to its title, delivering a euphoric compilation of psych and prog, whereon the considerable hits pummel the few misses into a wisp of insignificance.
Spirit of Joy – Tales From the Polydor Underground is available to buy from Amazon.co.uk
Also in Compilation Week:
Looking Towards the Sky – Progressive, Psychedelic and Folk Rock from the Ember Vaults
Cave of Clear Light – The Pye and Dawn Records Underground Trip 1967-1975
Real Life Permanent Dreams – A cornucopia of British psychedelia 1965-1970
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