One & One Is Two: Complete 1969-67

Phillip Goodhand-Tait (PGT) was one of the better blue-eyed soul vocalists coming out of England in the 1960's. This set collects various singles, EP tracks, six previously unreleased tracks, and three live tracks from the years 1965-67. The 16 page booklet has an essay by PGT on the music and the era, along with a few period b&w photos and 45 RPM labels (in color) from the Parlophone and USA labels. The sound is very good, clean and with a slight, nice sounding warmth that adds a more period feel to the music. This compilation floats somewhere between three and four "stars". I happen to like PGT and this period of British music so I went more towards four "stars"--to each his own.The tracks with The Stormsville Shakers include horns and (on track 7) strings. But for the most part this is pretty hard-hitting '60s soul/r&b that so many bands were playing at the time. There's two tracks under PGT's name that are similar to the Stormsville Shakers stuff, with his slightly gruff vocals front and center along with a tight rhythm section, backing female vocals and horns, plus an instrumental ("J.C. Greaseburger") that sounds suspiciously like a backing track, but does have nice guitar and sax solos as the tune pumps along. The live tunes (James Brown's "I Feel Good", plus "Have You Ever Had The Blues", and "Turn On Your Love Light") are typically tough sounding--giving a good idea of what this band with PGT was like at clubs like the Flamingo and the Marquis in the '60s--which the crowds no doubt ate up.Also here are eight tracks by Circus (renamed from The Stormsville Shakers) which were produced by Mike D'Abo, similar to the others featuring PGT in front of a small band with horns, harpsichord, piano, and suitably tight arrangements. Like the other tunes the emphasis is on the vocals which in this case are well wroth hearing. There's also a touch of something close to psyche ("Do You Dream?") from 1967 released as a single with lyrics ("...castles in the sky...") and sound effects (including phasing and seagulls) that fit in with the time. The last four tracks are previously unreleased--sounding like a cross between PGT's earlier tough vocals and some psyche-sounding lyrics/arrangements (including flute) on "Yes Is A Pleasant Country". "House Of Wood" has a vocal reminiscent of Donovan with horns and a full arrangement. The last two tunes are similar in sound and feel with "Who Will Love Her" an up tempo nicely arranged performance.Goodhand-Tait was never all that well known here in the U.S. except when his name would occasionally come up when talking about good unknown blue-eyed singers. For fans (like me) of this era of music in England this is a nice little set of tunes that reflects what people were listening to on the radio and in the clubs in the mid/late'60s. There's nothing really startling here--just good songs/tight arrangements/and PGT's fine vocals--if you're a fan of this period of British music. The collection of tunes by PGT on this album can sit with other albums from bands of the era like Bo Street Runners, Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers, The Quiet Five, The Truth, The Roulettes, Mike Stuart Span, Chris Farlowe, and other second tier groups that never truly "made it" to the top of the musical heap. All in all a good sounding set of tunes from that period.

this is a very nice disc of what i would say is about everything ever recorded by the stormsville shakers during there 4 years together, this band has a much more cleaner sound then for example THE WHO, THE CREATION, THE ACTION OR THE ARTWOODS did but i would call this a cross between great uk mod , soul and a bit of blues thrown in for mixing things up, these recordings are almost 50 years old as i write this so i would guess if i was 20 years older then i am i probably would have been really into the 45s this band put out back in the mid to late 60s, there is not to much unique about this band as in the uk at this time there where hundreds of bands with this sound from 1964 to 68 or there about, the remastering on this cd is phenomenal and sounds as good as any vinly lp you could put this music one, also the booklet will explain all you need to know about this short lived band, not to plug them to much in reviews THIS IS ON THE UK RPM LABEL wich is a part of cherry red records, what that means is this is probably the best cd reissue of these recordings you will ever hear on cd, anyway great british 60s mod sound with a decent horn section, im sure the weekend dancers of those days loved these guys..............

These guys were the classic blue-eyed soul club band, fitting in the same bill as others that made the circuit in the mid sixties. Think of the first singles of the Alan Bown Set, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers or Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, although they may not sound as tight and professional as their most well known cousins. The material released by the Stormsville Shakers is a mixed bag: blue-eyed soul, mersey beat, pop with horns Los Bravos' style, the dull track oriented to the charts, a ghostly ballad in French and even a couple of R&B/freakbeat/soul stompers (Gettin' Ready & Number One) that sound really amazing and totally caught my ear.When they changed their name and became "Circus", the band went a bit more pop in the same vein as The Love Affair. Surprisingly, here the best material are the unreleased tracks, which sound more psych and innovative following the path opened by The Who and others, with good guitars, interesting song-writing and some unexpected sounds (a flute!). These last tracks could perfectly fit in a Rubble-style popsike comp.If you are a fan of the Brit club blue-eyed soul sound of '65 & '66, this CD is a recommended purchase. But if you are looking for something outstanding and memorable, then you may keep looking somewhere else. The Stormsville Shakers were a good band, but they didn't record any piece of musical history. BTW, the sound quality is rather good, but don't expect a sublime listening experience: it seems as if the original masters were lost or not in the best shape.

Great

One of my favourite bands, great uk60s mod/r+b/soul band similar to early Yardbirds.

Real blast from the past. Thought this material was lost. Great CD.

Excellent