"Instro-Hipsters a Go-Go!" 2003 - Vol 5

A five-CD limited-edition box that combines all five volumes of Psychic Circle's Instro-Hipsters a Go-Go series, complete with a new 80-plus page booklet that ties everything together and adds biographies of the artists as well as discographies, this set is nothing less than the instrumental soundtrack of Swingin' London in the late 1960s and early '70s…
...The variety on display here is impressive, ranging from B-3-driven soul-jazz jams to twangy surf guitars, honking sax R&B stompers, and sweeping, orchestrated lounge oddities. Truthfully, it sounds like the Mod soundtrack to an epic James Bond movie tossed into a time warp blender, and while there is almost every kind of instrumental style represented here, it has a surprisingly unified feel and tone when all is said and done (the whole affair was compiled and sequenced by Nick Saloman, otherwise known as the Bevis Frond). Among the highlights are Timebox's delightfully loose "I Wish I Could Jerk Like My Uncle Cyril," the insistent "Saturday Jump" by Midnight Shift, the Mike Cotton Sounds' "Like That," the Roulettes' "Junk," and the nascent funk of "Ridin' on the Gravy Train" by the Thunder Company, but again, even though this box certainly feels varied, there's an overriding scheme to it that makes it all fit together like a giant, glowing neon hymn to the wonderful excesses and eccentricities of hip '60s London. If that's one's cup of tea, than this is a big old cup of tea. - AllMusic Review by Steve Leggett

trax:
1. The Bouncer - Sound Sixty-Six 2. Hot Pants - Tony Brans Band 3. Move In - Harry Stoneham 4. Theme One - John Mayer & Indo Jazz 5. Beefeaters - John Dankworth Orchestra 6. Wade In The Water - Graham Bond Org 7. Slipery Jui De Enze - Brian Bennett 8. Explosive Corrosive Joseph - John Shroeder Orchestra 9. Stop Press - Alan Moorhouse Orchestra 10. Man Shot - Galactic Federation 11. Owed To The Dip - Velvet Fogg 12. The Fix - Howie G Conder 13. Juliet Simpkins - Powerpack 14. Like That - Mike Cotton Sound 15. Land Of The Magic Wizard - Electric Frankenstein 16. Impressions Of Oliver - Herd 17. Image - Alan Haven 18. Too Fartiche - Les Yper Sounds 19. Burn Up - Titan Studio Orchestra 20. Ridin' On The Gravy Train - Thunder Company 21. Destination Moon - Ray Mcvay Orchestra 22. Ride Your Pony - Gabrielli Brass 23. The Tag - Mike Carr & Tony Crombie 24. High Wire - Ivor Slaney & His Orchestra