Gs I Love You Too Various Artists (Big Beat International)

£11.70

Genre:
Psych / Garage
Label:
Big Beat
Format:
CD
Catalogue Id:
CDWIKD 196

Proof that the Japanese have always excelled at anything they put their hand to, including reinterpreting Western rock, comes with the growing cult appreciation for their amazing mid-1960s GS rock scene. GS refers to Group Sounds, the name the local media gave to a glut of garage bands circa 1967.

Rock in Japan had really got going with the instrumental eleki boom of 1964-1965, but obviously the Beatles and other British acts were as popular in the Far East as they were anywhere else in the world, and many of them, including the Fabs, helped inspire the GS boom by visiting the country. This pop explosion was ably supported by a wildly enthusiastic teen audience that gave the major GS groups such as the Tigers and the Spiders the kind of popularity reserved for visiting stars ie hit singles, movies, lavishly-packaged albums and mob scenes whenever they played.

Our earlier foray into the GS phenomenon, GS I LOVE YOU - CDWIKD 159, was a resounding success, not least in Japan itself, where it was praised for its "sophisticated selection" and "killer sound". This sequel volume, drawing on the Japanese imprint of the Philips label, is even stronger and it features several acknowledged classics of the genre, such as D'Swooners Please Please Trina, the Youngers' Hanashitakunai and the Carnabeats' wild Chu! Chu! Chu! There's a kinetic energy to the best Groups Sounds that is practically unmatched by contemporaneous US and UK garage bands, with plenty of fast'n'furious fuzz guitar, reckless rhythm and a nice line in blood-curdling screams.

With this compilation we also focus on the strong original material released by groups such as the Tempters and the Jaguars, two of the very best GS combos. The latter's second album, "5-1=0", from whence several tracks on GS I LOVE YOU TOO derive, is regarded as a classic of the era in Japan. The Jaguars were popular enough to star in a couple of their own Help-style movies and several soundtrack tunes are featured here, such as the stomping Dancing Lonely Night and the band's theme tune Beat Train. We also get a taste of the instrumental eleki style with the Savage's Joe Meek-ish Space Express.

As usual the set features copious liner notes, including full group histories and many pictures of these rarely glimpsed acts. With breathtaking master tape sound, the GS style really leaps out of the speakers at you, and GS I LOVE YOU TOO is definitely not for the faint at heart, or the culturally myopic for that matter. Oh, and it's still only the second legally licensed GS collection outside of Japan (the first being our earlier volume of course!)

by Alec Palao

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Track listing

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Side 1

  • 01 Preview Hanashitakunai - The Youngers

  • 02 Preview Dancing Lonely Night - The Jaguars

  • 03 Preview Chu! Chu! Chu! - The Carnabeats

  • 04 Preview Please Please Trina - D'Swooners

  • 05 Preview Himitsu No Aikotoba - The Tempters

  • 06 Preview Sutekina Sandy - The Carnabeats

  • 07 Preview Zin Zin Zin - The Youngers

  • 08 Preview Tell Me More - The Tempters

  • 09 Preview Seaside Bound - The Jaguars

  • 10 Preview Stone Free - D'Swooners

  • 11 Preview Space Express - The Savage

  • 12 Preview Koi Ni Shiberete - Lind & The Linders

  • 13 Preview Kidotta Ano Ko - The Tempters

  • 14 Preview Give Me Lovin' - The Carnabeats

  • 15 Preview Dancin' Baby - The Jaguars

  • 16 Preview Stop The Music - The Tempters

  • 17 Preview My Love My Love - The Youngers

  • 18 Preview Kono Mune Ni Dakishimete - The Tempters

  • 19 Preview Love Only For You - The Carnabeats

  • 20 Preview Yuhi Yo Isoge - Lind & The Linders

  • 21 Preview Beat Train - The Jaguars

  • 22 Preview Bokutachi No Tenshi - The Tempters

  • 23 Preview Do The Whip - The Youngers

  • 24 Preview Taiyoh Yaroh - The Jaguars

  • 25 Preview Kanashimi No Bell - The Carnabeats

  • 26 Preview Wasure-Emu Kimi - The Tempters

  • 27 Preview Kamisama Onegai - The Tempters

Delivery & Returns

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You have the right to cancel your order within seven days of purchase, or seven days of receipt of the goods (whichever is the longer). If you choose to cancel your order, full payment will be returned to you. Returned items should be sent to: “Returns” c/o Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the email address: orders@acerecords.com including a copy of your notice of cancellation and order number.

Press quotes

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This is quality stuff. 

Mojo

This is '60's music so wild and ebullient it's impossible not to be captivated.

Record Collector

Customer reviews

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