VA — The Best Of Planet Records — A Shel Talmy Production (1965-66/2000)

FLAC (tracks, .cue, log, scans) | 1h | Beat, Rhythm & Blues, Mod, Pop Rock | 227 MB

01. Dave Helling — Christine

02. Dave Helling — Bells

03. Tony Lord — World\’s Champion

04. The Untamed — It\’s Not True

05. John Lee\’s Groundhogs — I\’ll Never Fall In Love Again

06. John Lee\’s Groundhogs — Over You Baby

07. The Trekkas — Please Go

08. Dani Sheridan — Guess I\’m Dumb

09. The Tribe — Gamma Goochie

10. Perpetual Langley — We Wanna Stay Home

11. National Pinion Pole — Make Your Mark Little Man

12. The Untamed — Daddy Long Legs

13. Perpetual Langley — Surrender

14. The Creation — Making

15. The Creation — Try And Stop Me

16. The Orlons — Spinning Top

17. The Thoughts — All Night Stand

18. The Thoughts — Memory Of Your Love

19. The Creation — Painter Man

20. The Creation — Biff Bang Pow

21. A Wild Uncertainty — Man With Money

22. A Wild Uncertainty — Broken Truth

23. Gnomes Of Zurich — Please Mr. Sun

24. The Corduroys — Too Much Of A Woman

In 1965 and 1966, producer Shel Talmy — famous for his work with the early Who, Kinks, and other British groups — ran his own label, Planet Records. It folded about a year after it started, but during that it released 22 singles and two albums by a wide variety of artists, none of them well known, unless you want to include the Creation. Twenty-two songs from the Planet catalog are featured on this compilation, none of them British hits, save the Creation\’s \»Making \» and \»Painter Man\» (and even those charted low). Planet made some interesting records, but in truth — whether Talmy was the producer (as he was for much of these) or not — they\’re not in the same league as his most famous work, and not wholly devoted to the raw mod rock for which he was renowned. As for what might be thought of as characteristic Talmy sounds, there\’s the power pop-with-guitar distortion of the Creation, one of the most esteemed cult groups of the \’60s (represented by both sides of their first two singles); the Untamed\’s more soul-oriented mod music; and the Thoughts\’ \»All Night Stand,\» a cover of a quality Ray Davies composition not released by the Kinks in the \’60s. Otherwise it\’s quite a mixed lot: blue-eyed soul from John Lee\’s Groundhogs (later to evolve into the blues-rock Groundhogs featuring Tony McPhee); folk-influenced pop by Dave Helling and Tony Lord; a cover of Brian Wilson\’s obscure song \»Guess I\’m Dumb\» by Dani Sheridan; generic mod rock from A Wild Uncertainty; sub-Kinks social comment from National Pinion Pole; and a host of undistinguished soul tunes. It\’s lacking in the strong material of Talmy\’s most famous prot?g?s, and the most important tracks (the four by the Creation) have long been available on Creation anthologies.