Hailing from Florida, The Tropics were one of the finest 60s garage bands. Their memorable concerts are still remembered today by the lucky ones who saw them at the time. Between 1965 and 1969, they recorded some explosive and now legendary 45s which are prime examples of garage-rock, teen-beat, folk-rock and proto-psych sounds. Here you’ll find most of those 45 sides along with some rare, previously unreleased on vinyl tracks. Including the classic “As time’s gone” (covered by The Fuzztones) and many more. Remastered sound in mono, insert with detailed liner notes by Jeremy Cargill (Ugly Things) and rare photos. It's pressed on heavyweight, super-quiet black vinyl, with a great-looking cover and a 4 page full sized insert with some very cool photos and label scans. The insert also features a concise history of the band, and some clippings from newspapers from the day. All round a great package worthy of a strong recommendation. The first 3 tracks alone pack a mind-blowing punch - "As Time's Gone", "You Better Move" and "For A Long Time". Originally released on 3 different labels (Columbia, Laurie and Thames), they sound great together finally on this new comp. Another highlight is their first 45 "I Want More", originally released on yet another two different labels, Knight and Freeport (the pressing featured here is Freeport). More coolness on side 1 are flipsides "Time" and "Black Jacket Woman", and "It's You I Miss", all worthy tunes sounding fantastic here. Side 2 starts off strong with "This Must Be The Place" from their 2nd Columbia 45, a heavily cranked fuzz-crusted pounder racked with tortured screams and strangled lead breaks. Great! Of the unissued material, my favourite is "Laughing Again" which features strong melody, jangly guitar and harmony vocals. In honesty, most of the later material on side 2 just does not hold up to the greatness of side 1. However, it is well-chosen from the available material, and none of the tracks fall below an acceptable standard. A job very well done by the crew at the Spanish Guerssen label. 01. As Time's Gone (02:16) 02. You Better Move (02:39) 03. For A Long Time (02:34) 04. Time (Take The Time) (02:02) 05. I Want More (02:27) 06. It’'s You I Miss (02:37) 07. Black Jacket Woman (02:31) 08. This Must Be The Place (01:52) 09. Talking ‘'Bout Love (02:21) 10. Laughing Again (02:41) 11. Goodbye My Love (02:43) 12. Hey Little Girl (02:24) 13. The Prism (02:29) 14. Toy Soldier (02:56) http://www.discogs.com/The-Tropics-As-Times-Gone/release/5105040

• published: 31 Dec 2015
• views: 51