English Freakbeat Series

ENGLISH FREAKBEAT SERIES

The English Freakbeat Series is a group of compilation albums that were issued by AIP Records featuring recordings that were released in the mid-1960’s by English rock bands in the early punk, proto-punk, R&B, mod, and beat genres. The series served as a follow-up to the Pebbles, Volume 6 LP (which was originally released much earlier, in 1980); subtitled The Roots of Mod, this is the only album in the Pebbles series that is devoted to English music. When the English Freakbeat series was reissued as CDs in the 1990’s, this LP was included as English Freakbeat, Volume 6. (More from Wikipedia)

But the Pebbles series wasn’t just garage rock and psychedelic rock either: The Pebbles, Volume 4 LP and the Pebbles, Volume 4 CD showcased rare surf music, illustrating that there was a lot more to the surf scene than the mellow sounds that were hitting the radio in those days by the likes of the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean; while the Pebbles, Volume 6 LP – subtitled “The Roots of Mod” – included several rare British beat bands. Greg Shaw later followed up with that album with the now-deleted English Freakbeat Series.

(January 2013)

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I have collected most or all of the albums in several of the various series of garage rock and psychedelic rock compilation albums that Greg Shaw has released in the past few decades, including Pebbles, Rough Diamonds, Highs in the Mid-Sixties, English Freakbeat, and Electric Sugar Cube Flashbacks. Pebbles in particular is often cited as one of the chief inspirations behind the punk rock movement of the mid-1970’s – even more so than the better-known Nuggets album. Thus, even Greg Shaw’s historical albums have helped direct the future of rock music.

(May 2013)

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I have the Sons of Fred singles on two albums in the English Freakbeat Series; both sides of their 1965 single, “I, I, I Want Your Lovin’” and “She Only Wants a Friend” are the opening tracks on the English Freakbeat, Volume 3 CD (and are also included on the English Freakbeat, Volume 3 LP); and three more of their songs are on the English Freakbeat, Volume 4 CD (but not on the English Freakbeat, Volume 4 LP) – all but “You Told Me”. “You Told Me” is included on the Rare 60’s Beat Treasures, Volume 5 CD and also a later compilation album called Magic Spectacles.

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The music on the English Freakbeat Series is similar to what is on the Pebbles, Volume 6 LP that was mentioned earlier; indeed, when that album was reissued on CD in 1996, it was named English Freakbeat, Volume 6. The series collects songs from obscure British “beat” bands and Mod groups and comes from a somewhat earlier period (typically 1964 to 1966) than the American garage rock and psychedelic rock bands that are presented on the Pebbles series (typically 1965 to 1968). “Freakbeat” is a reference to the transition from the earlier beat band sound to a more psychedelic rock style of music.

Many of the songs in the English Freakbeat Series were by musicians that became famous in later bands or in other contexts. For instance, the English Freakbeat, Volume 3 LP includes cuts by the In Crowd, which later became Tomorrow, and the Mockingbirds, a predecessor band to 10cc; also, the English Freakbeat, Volume 3 CD has a song by the Raving Savages, who were the backing band for Screaming Lord Sutch. The real attraction for the CD reissue though are three songs by a band called the Ravens; their bandleader Dave Davies and his younger brother Ray Davies were later in the Kinks, with Ray being the frontman and main songwriter for that stellar British Invasion group. Ray Davies was supposedly not involved in the Ravens at all according to the band’s official history; however, the CD liner notes as well as the review by Allmusic notes that some of these songs bear Ray Davies’ stamp and might have been sung (if not written) by him.

(March 2014/2)

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As with past UARB the Sons of Fred, I learned about this month’s Under-Appreciated Rock Band, the Soul Agents through the albums in the English Freakbeat Series. The English Freakbeat, Volume 2 CD includes a song made famous by Muddy Waters, “I Just Wanna Make Love to You” plus the flip side of a later single, the organ-driven instrumental “Gospel Train”. The English Freakbeat, Volume 4 CD has three more songs, “Don’t Break it Up”, “Mean Woman Blues” and “I Just Wanna Make Love to You” again. Apparently the intention was to include “Let’s Make it Pretty Baby” on the earlier CD (it was included on the English Freakbeat, Volume 2 LP); Greg Shaw says that it was his favorite among their songs in the liner notes for the English Freakbeat, Volume 2 CD.

(May 2014)

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I putzed around in my stacks looking for a band who was clearly influenced by the Rolling Stones – the way that my “two-fer” from a few months ago was, the Richmond Sluts and Big Midnight – but I couldn’t find one right away. So I decided to go back to the mother lode of English beat bands, the English Freakbeat series that Greg Shaw put together, where I have found several other previous UARB’s. Sadly, these albums (both vinyl and CD) have been out of print for many years, but there are used copies available here and there.

Anyway, I found one right away: the Primitives. That’s the Primitives with the crazy hair in the middle of the cover of the English Freakbeat, Volume 4 CD; the caption inside the booklet says: “The Primitives get their hair done!”).

(May 2015)

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Anyway, once Kill City broke the ice, Bomp! Records and their affiliated labels like BFD Records, Voxx Records, AIP Records, Mohawk Records, and others began pressing LP’s by the truckload almost immediately. The label’s first compilation album, The Best of Bomp, Volume One was originally released in 1978. The Pebbles Series of 1960’s garage rock and psychedelic rock songs that number nearly 100 albums in all began shipping in 1978; besides Pebbles, the various series (both LP’s and CD’s) include the Highs in the Mid-Sixties Series, The Continent Lashes Back, Best of Pebbles, Great Pebbles, etc. Their other reissues of 1960’s music include the English Freakbeat Series, the Rough Diamonds Series, and the Electric Sugar Cube Flashbacks Series.

(December 2017)