KALEIDOSCOPE- Jenny Artichoke

TIMEBOX- A Girl Like You

GENTLE INFLUENCE- You've Been Cheatin'

MONTANAS- You're Never Going To Get My Lovin'

MONTANAS- Hey Grandma

TOMORROW- Real Life Permanent Dream

TIMEBOX- Beggin'

KALEIDOSCOPE- Music

SPECTRUM- Headin' For A Heatwave

MONTANAS- Omaha

TOMORROW- Colonel Brown

SPECTRUM- I Take What I Want

TIMEBOX- Stay There

TIMEBOX- Yellow Van

MONTANAS- A Step In The Right Direction

GENTLE INFLUENCE- Always Be A Part Of My Living

TOMORROW- Blow Up

‘Shapes And Sounds’ offers seventeen performances taped in BBC studios for broadcast not only on the more familiar radio shows such as ‘Top Gear’ and Saturday Club’, but also some of the daytime weekly programmes such as ‘The Jimmy Young Show'.

For many pride of place will go to Kaleidoscope, as ‘Shapes And Sounds’ features two tracks that are missing from the BBC’s Transcription Service archive and consequently were not included on the ‘Please Listen To The Pictures’ BBC set. Top Sounds are privileged to complete the jigsaw and offer a choice version of the band’s most contagious single ‘Jenny Artichoke’, as well as a stupendous rendition of the ‘Faintly Blowing’ cut ‘Music’ which is guaranteed to have Kaleidoscope’s legion of followers in ecstacy! Also thought lost and making their debut on record and CD are three splendid tracks by Tomorrow featuring Keith West - included are excellent renditions of ‘Blow Up’ and ‘Colonel Brown’ but the pick of the bunch is almost certainly ‘Real Life Permanent Dream’, with its overdrive of twisting wah wah guitar throughout from the nimble fingers of Steve Howe. It’s been a while since any fresh music from Timebox was released and ‘Shapes And Sounds’ offers their four remaining session tracks from the Beeb archives, which include a beautiful version of their famed ‘Beggin’, a rendition of ‘Yellow Van’ which most definitely puts the single cut to shame, a superb take of ‘Stay There’ and perhaps most importantly, an admirable slice of blue eyed soul in their cover of the Young Rascals’ ‘A Girl Like You’, which the band never recorded outside of the BBC.

The Montanas’ BBC take of their most prized pop/psych 45 ‘A Step In The Right Direction’ is literally drowned in a veritable tidal wave of phasing, whilst ‘You’re never going to get my lovin’ would have made a better choice for a single than some of those that were actually released. The other Montanas performances form something of a Moby Grape tribute, with a cracking rendering of ‘Hey Grandma’ and a blistering attack on ‘Omaha’. Of all these numbers from their repertoire, only ‘A Step In The Right Direction’ ever appeared on a single. Oxfordshire’s Gentle Influence have come to more prominence recently with the inclusion of their popular ‘Easy To Know’ on the ‘Le Beat Bespoke’ compilation and Top Sounds have uncovered a similarly styled nugget with their BBC only cover of Curtis Mayfield’s ‘You’ve Been Cheatin’, as well as a superior version of their final 1969 A’ side ‘Always Be A Part Of My Living’.

And last but my no means least The Spectrum - hitherto not the most rated of 60s bands by some - impress with a fuzz guitar spiked performance of ‘Headin’ For A Heatwave’ which is more virile and much more atmospheric than the 45 version, and they enthusiastically rip through a Beeb only take of the Artwoods favourite ‘I Take What I Want’.

The sound quality is absolutely superb throughout, with nearly every track sourced from original BBC Transcription records. The Tomorrow performances have been taken from excellent off air recordings and similarly shine and few of the tracks on the collection needed much enhancement at all, all have nevertheless been professionally restored and mastered. The presentation is immaculate and as with the ‘Alphabeat’ release, Artholeghraphics have designed a memorable period flavoured package. The LP has a sixteen page colour booklet based on a vintage Radio Times (the CD has a twenty four page book) packed with illustrations, band histories and listings of all their known BBC sessions written and supplied by Nigel Lees, author of much of Record Collector magazine’s ‘The British Psychedelic Trip’ series. Except for one of the Montanas recordings being bootlegged many years ago, none of the tracks have ever been commercially available and most have not been heard in public since the 60’s.

All copies are hand numbered and ‘Shapes And Sounds’ is a legitimate limited edition release, licensed from the BBC with the blessing / co-operation of no less than nineteen band members.

Check out the new website
http://topsoundsrecords.co.uk/intro.html

With this second excavation of previously unreleased live BBC session performances spanning the period

1967 - 1971, ‘Shapes And Sounds’ becomes a series and Volume Two features a completely different line up of

bands from last years’ set. Pride of place on this second edition arguably goes to the Gun, with three

astonishing performances that were recorded nearly a year before ‘Race With The Devil’ which illustrate their

late ’67 menu of mod and psych pop, with cracking versions of Rupert’s People’s ‘Hold On’, Paul Simon’s

‘A Most Peculiar Man’ and a quite splendid airing of their legendary ‘Light On The Wall’! The Casuals surprise

with the beat of ‘Midnight Confessions’ and ‘Take Me For A Little While’ as well as a fine rendering of ‘Jesamine’,

 whilst the Mirage perform a live version of their May 1967 single ‘The Wedding Of Ramona Blair’.

The Alan Bown play an excellent take of ‘Magic Handkerchief’ and even more interestingly offer two numbers

that never appeared on any Bown release, with the self penned progressive popper ‘Movie Star Baby’ and

a brilliant interpretation of the Association’s ‘Pandora’s Golden Heebie Jeebies’.

Also with three tracks on ‘Shapes And Sounds’ are Wales’ Bystanders, who turn in a lovely version of

‘Royal Blue Summer Sunshine Day’ as well as a glorious homage to the Byrds with ‘Renaissance Fair’.

Even better and long talked about in collectors circles but never previously released is their absolutely

stunning rendition of ‘I Am The Walrus’, which Top Sounds are sure will disappoint no-one!

Sourced from an off air recording of their only British television appearance on Disco 2, Killing Floor

perform ‘Milkman’ from their ‘Out Of Uranus’ LP in superb quality (the TV show was wiped decades ago)

and of similarly heinous rarity are live tracks from Portrait and Katch 22, who turn in forceful renderings

of ‘Born To Be Wild’ and ‘The Price Of Love’ respectively (the latter of which is better than the Status Quo cover!)

   The sound quality is absolutely superb throughout, with twelve of the sixteen tracks sourced from

original BBC Transcription records. The other performances have been taken from excellent off air recordings

and similarly shine and though few of the tracks on the collection needed much enhancement at all,

all have nevertheless been professionally restored and mastered. The presentation is immaculate and

as with the previous ‘Shapes And Sounds’ release, Artholeghraphics have designed a memorable

period flavoured package. The LP has a sixteen page colour booklet based on a vintage Radio Times

packed with illustrations, band histories and listings of all their known BBC sessions written and supplied

by Nigel Lees, author of much of Record Collector magazine’s ‘The British Psychedelic Trip’ series.

Except for the Mirage recording being bootlegged many years ago (in lesser quality!), none of the tracks

have ever been commercially available and most have not been heard in public since the 60’s.

The compact disc version will be available early in 2008.

   All copies are hand numbered and ‘Shapes And Sounds’ is a legitimate limited edition release, licensed from

the BBC with the blessing / co-operation of many band members.