Nick Saloman of
the Bevis Frond has assembled compilation CDs for his Psychic Circle label devoted to seemingly every hip and happening genre in pop music of the 1960s -- psychedelic, freakbeat, garage rock, blue-eyed soul, R&B, folk-rock, the list goes on. So having gone through all the cool stuff, Saloman has chosen to bravely dip his toes into something not all that hip -- namely male vocal pop singles from the U.K..
File Under: Male Vocal contains 20 rare sides that seem to reflect the British equivalent of the Brill Building scene in the United States; most of this is pop/rock clearly created on an assembly line, but it's a great assembly line, featuring strong, soulful singers belting out well-crafted tunes with expert backing delivered by tight, talented session bands. Unlike many of the Psychic Circle collections,
File Under: Male Vocal is a bit short on artists who would go on to bigger or more recognizable things; most of these singles were recorded by journeyman vocalists who cut these as part of respectable but little recognized careers, and some of them are still performing today. But if the names aren't familiar, the work is still worthwhile; Greg Hunter delivers a fine cover of "Five O'Clock World,"
Danny Street digs into more obscure territory with a version of "Can I Go" by
Roger Nichols & the Small Circle of Friends, Christian Ward hits the depth of romantic self pity with "The Face of Empty Me" (you're forgiven for thinking it sounds like "the face of MTV"), Dominic Grant fills the dancefloor with the uptempo "Don't Stop Girl," Dave Walton delivers a superbly moody performance on "Tell Me a Lie" (ditto for Graham Bell's "How Do You Say I Don't Love You Anymore"), and "Move On" is a great dance number from the memorably pseudonymed Dorian Gray. As with the lion's share of Psychic Circle's releases, the remastering from rare vinyl is good and the liner notes entertainingly pass along what's known about the artists included here; this collection isn't likely to be on the top of anyone's want list, but if you're interested in some of the more obscure products of the British Beat era, you'll find some fun and rewarding rarities on this disc. ~ Mark Deming