Although this CD is credited to
the Tol-Puddle Martyrs, it's actually an eight-song compilation with tracks from three groups that included Australian singer and keyboardist Peter Rechter. The first two tracks are by his mid-'60s band, Peter & the Silhouettes, who contributed these two original songs to a compilation album of bands in their region, The Scene in Northern Victoria. The first of those Peter & the Silhouettes numbers, "Claudette Jones," is a quite respectable slice of garage-pop, while "The Natural Man" is more subdued and spooky, somewhat in line with the organ-grounded blues-pop that
the Animals and
Them did in their early days. The next four tracks are by Rechter's subsequent '60s band,
the Tol-Puddle Martyrs, who issued singles in 1967 and 1968. Both sides of each of those singles are here, the earlier of the pair, "Time Will Come," being the highlight; its organ, distorted guitar, and cool vocal recall American garage-psychedelia like Max Frost & the Troopers' "Shapes of Things to Come." While the second single wasn't as good, it contained some of the most accurate emulations of the circa 1966-1967
Kinks sound, though with a rawer fuzz guitar than
the Kinks were using at that point. The record ends with remakes of "Time Will Come" and "Claudette Jones" from the 2001 album by Rechter's group the Secrets. The enhanced CD portion of the disc contains vintage photos, repros of labels of original 45 rpm releases, and 1960s footage of
the Tol-Puddle Martyrs set to the music of their "Time Will Come" single. While this CD isn't widely distributed, it can be ordered from the Secrets' website at www.secretdeals.com.au. ~ Richie Unterberger