What you have here is two volumes of premium grade mid-60s Euro beat/punk with a few rare downunder nuggets thrown in for good measure. By now, the original singles from which these sounds were taken have been priced well out of reach of the poor and the sane, so comps like these are becoming more and more vital. And volumes one and two of Diggin' For Gold are THEE most vital I've heard in a long time.
The black and gold cover design for the albums is based on the Black Monk Time LP, and features pictures of most of the bands and an insert with brief background info on each track.
The series takes its title from David John & the Mood's third and final single, a pulsating piece of moody beat which escaped from the strange mind and cramped studio of Mr Joe Meek in 1965 - you'll find it on Volume One.
The Icelandic group Hljomar - that's Thor's Hammer to us warm-bloods - were totally unknown until recently when their 1966 EP Umbarumbamba was unearthed. Recorded in England but only issued in Iceland - in conjunction with some long lost (for now) film - the four songs are simply amazing, combining scorching fuzz guitar powerquake with a bitter-mouthed, fast-moving beat attack. The appearance of the EP on a list immediately caused a half a dozen collector freaks to empty their bank accounts so they could each score the "only known copy." The joke's on them now `cos, thanks to Diggin' For Gold, even poor and/or sane folk like you and I can painlessly add all four cuts to our collections. The best two ("I Don't Care" and "Big Beat Country Dance") are on Volume One, while the marginally less stupendous "My Life" and "Better Days" are tucked away on Volume Two.
There's plenty more to amaze too, but to prevent too many drool stains on the page I'll just hit a few highlights, starting with Volume One.
The Blue Aces, five black English dudes, deliver some seriously stomping mod-beat on "That's Alright"; Vince Taylor and band go absolutely berserk on "My Baby Left Me"; the Throb conjure up a grim, hypnotic mood for "Believe In Me"; and the Other Side pour on the bluesy anguish for their harp'n'organ potboiler "Out My Light."
The noisier, more frenzied punk numbers are balanced by the inclusion of a handful of equally effective pop songs, including the stunning "Summer Sun" by the (Swedish) Beathovens, a melodic beat haunter worthy of Kontroversy-era Kinks - and that's HIGH praise!
Volume Two takes off with an obscure single by Liverpool's Undertakers. "(I Fell In Love) For the Very First Time" was a US-only release on the small Black Watch label. It's an explosive beat-punk song propelled by a raw, crunching bass rhythm, twisted, distorted guitar leads, and rude blasts of sax - it's a long, long way from "Mashed Potatoes"! Rumour is that more Undertakers tracks from this session are to be reissued next year.
The Australian Moods, who gave us the great "Rum Drunk," are featured here with the equally fine "Cause Of You," while their fellow countrymen the Marksmen serve up some crude maraca-shakin' punk R&B on "Moonshine."
Dan en Wat play the blues in that bizarre, perverted manner which we've come to expect of the Dutch. "Dead Man Blues" is total primitivism: simple guitar scratchings, a climbing, out of tune bass line, cryptic yet highly emotional vocals, and a building, brooding intensity that brings to mind such dark, dangerous Dutch moments as the Outsiders' "Afraid of The Dark" and Cuby & the Blizzards' "Back Home." OK, so it doesn't quite match up to either of those tracks (what does?) but the feeling is there, dig?
More strange Dutch people can be found in the shape of Group $OALL (pronounced "Group Zooall"). "Will You Teach Me How To Love" is a ultra-crude ballad featuring discordant guitar twangings and accents thicker than Dutch cheese - "Will you teach me how to love, and I'll be shatisfite." Sick and great!
The Sound Ltd Set (from Sweden) also serve up something unique with "Sunside World," an agitated piece of amphetamine freakbeat which takes bits of "You Better Run" and "I Feel Good" and shapes them into a vibrator for your skull - sh-sh-sh-sh-shakin'!
"Leave Me Alone" by the Unforgettable Amnesiacs (from an unreleased acetate) is a lost gem of UK modbeat. It drives along at an increasingly treacherous rate before swerving off into a hot guitar break and onwards through a couple of throbbing key changes - extremely f*in' good!
On the lighter note, the Toreros' "Come" is a magical piece of Dutch beat with its jangling guitar chords and soaring Hollies-style harmonies, and the Beatnicks, the Rolling Beats and Nameless all chime in with more wistful pop melodies from the Netherlands.
Track for track there's more pop on Volume Two, giving Volume One the edge for me - but who says you gotta pick just one? Get `em both, chumps!
- Mike Stax (Originally published in Ugly Things #13, 1994)