Various Artists - Doing It For The Kids

01. The Jasmine Minks - You Cut Me Deep
02. Felt - Ballad Of The Band
03. The House Of Love - Christine
04. The Weather Prophets - Well Done Sonny
05. Primal Scream - All Fall Down
06. Biff Bang Pow! - She Paints
07. The Jazz Butcher - Lot 49
08. Heidi Berry - North Shore Train
09. Nikki Sudden - Death Is Hanging Over Me
10. My Bloody Valentine - Cigarette In My Bed
11. Pacific - Jetstream
12. The Times - Godevil
13. Momus - A Complete History Of Sexual Jealousy (Parts 17-24)
14. Emily - Reflect On Rye
15. Razorcuts - Brighter Now

1988 Creation Records | CRELP037
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Not a mod record as such, but in 1989 when I got this, I had been beginning to cast my net a bit wider for new sounds. Needs must and all that. I had passed it over a few times before, but I had noticed it had a Times track and some of the band names sounded vibey. Then I read somewhere that Alan McGee had named the label after my favourite 60s band The Creation, not to mention calling his band Biff Bang Pow! after one of their tracks, and I was sold. I suppose Creation Records offered me (and probably many others) a way out of being soley into mod music while keeping my mod credentials. It was the perfect missing link between mod music and the sounds I was later into. It also played no small part in mod music in general regaining its iconic status during the nineties, when bands like Ride, Oasis and others were declaring their 60s influences.
Like most compilations, it's patchy fare at times, but it does feature some soon to be big names like Primal Scream, House Of Love and My Bloody Valentine, who are still one of my favourite bands, though Cigarette In My Bed went right over my head at the time. Other worthy mentions go to the Jasmine Minks opener and the beautiful Brighter Now by The Razorcuts which closes the album.



www.creation-records.com

The Times - Blue Period 12"

01. Blue Fire
02. Stop In The Name Of Love
03. Tears On A Rainy Sunday
04. I'll See You In My Dreams
05. Boys Brigade

1985 Artpop! | Artpop No2
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Nowadays it seems mods can listen to quite a wide range of non-mods acts without too much remonstration but back in the day, one had to tread a little more carefully. This wasn't easy, as there was a lot of ropey music around mod circles. Few bands at the time tread the fine line between 80s pop and mod music more precariously than Ed Ball's The Times. Maybe it was a London thing, but where I came from, admitting to liking this could have got you a kicking. I remember picking this up second-hand about a year after its release which probably wasn't a good sign to begin with, and I never really liked it much. The tunes were decent enough but the polite 80s pop production left me cold and why anyone would want to listen to their version of Stop In The Name Of Love instead of the original Supremes classic is beyond me. The band had a bunch of releases on their own Artpop! label from '83 to '86 before Ed went on to become a player at Creation Records, where he released further material under The Times name, and is still plowing his own furrow today.

www.myspace.com/edwardball