The Clique "Vanbrugh Park" 2003

For 80s mod revivalists who previously released a handful of singles (including the hit, 'Reggie') & the album, 'Self Preservation Society'. Recorded with the help of Acid Jazz Records & James Taylor Quartet's frontman, they laid down these stunning British mod/R&B/beat tracks in 1986-87.
Somewhere between the demise of The Prisoners and the heyday of Acid Jazz emerged The Clique, a band who managed to both breathe life into the international Mod scene just as they were setting the stage to make it difficult again by influencing a number of 3rd rate imitators. Of course, it would then take at least another 5 years following The Cliques own split to rid ourselves of the majority of these bands. But at long last, Detour have finally released the fabled “Acid Jazz Years” session, now with the improved name of “Vanbrugh Park”.
During a couple of fateful days in “late 86 or early 87” according to the liner notes, Eddie Piller took a young band playing a new breed of big beat British R&B channeling The Shadows of Knight as much as The Birds. Many of you will recognize at least four of these songs from the infamous “Early Days” EP. And from that EP we know that The Clique were always quite good as a straight r&b/mod group with a bluesy edge. Added to the mix was the already over-achieving James Taylor – who was feeling the success of his own post-Prisoners band and a Herbie Hancock cover called “Blow Up”. Maybe a couple of you know that one?
The songs themselves are quite strong, with well chosen covers and promising originals. It’s somewhat of a shame that this incarnation of The Clique never properly gelled, as they played in quite a different manor than we know from the “Self Preservation Society” album. Of course as The Clique evolved, so did their sound and the strength of their original material. For sheer authenticity, the material recorded for “Vanbrugh Park” would never had stood up to the quality of similar music being put out by The Mystreated around the same time but it’s difficult to deny the infectiousness of tracks like “Ground Ginger”, the cover of “Sookie Sookie” (and it’s instrumental counterpart, “Wormin”), “Gonna Get Me Somebody” and “Crying Days”, which could have been an unforgettable classic with a singer who wasn’t trying to impersonate Jim Sohns.
That reminds me. There are unmistakable weaknesses found within some of this material. In addition to the Jimmy Sohns bit mentioned above, “You’d Better Stop” isn’t a particularly strong track, and it must be said that for all that James Taylor adds to this recording, he really does overplay the band on “Sookie Sookie” and also a bit on “Crying Days”. However, it’s not worth nitpicking when “Vanbrugh Park” is a great look into the early days of The Clique and isn’t lacking in good music by any stretch. A direct comparison to “Self-Preservation Society” would be inappropriate, as the style of “Vanbrugh Park” really is more of a rhythm & blues affair than the freakbeat onslaught we have become accustomed to through The Clique’s later records. One might even go so far as to suggest that there are a few of you out there who didn’t like The Clique’s “Detour Years”, who might find quit a bit more enjoyment from “The Acid Jazz Years”. © Brian Poust 2003 - 2009 [Published 29 May 2003]
trax:
01 Ground Ginger 02 Gonna Get Me Somebody 03 Crying Days 04 Sookie Sookie 05 Te-Ni-Nee-Ni-Nu 06 Leaving Here 07 Wormin' 08 I'm So Good Without You 09 You'd Better Stop 10 Young Man Blues 11 Ground Ginger