With 85 tracks spread out over three discs,
Love to See You Strut
offers hours of mod-adjacent sounds from the 1960s, with inclusions from some of the best-known bands of the time and far more obscure acts alike. The compilation is divided into three areas of specific focus. The first disc collects 29 tracks from R&B/beat bands who got steady airplay in the early-to-mid-'60s club scene. This includes a pre-prog version of
the Moody Blues
,
Dusty Springfield
, Midwestern soul sensation
Geno Washington
, an instrumental organ workout on "Turn On Your Lovelight" by
Wynder K Frog
, tunes from
Manfred Mann
, previously unreleased tracks from beat acts
the SW4
and
the Trendbender Band
, and many other songs designed for dancing and swinging. Disc two progresses more into the mod era, with familiar names like
the Who
the Kinks
Small Faces
, and
the Zombies
showing up alongside less celebrated mod artists like
the Profile
the Uprooted
. Things get more fiery as the compilation goes on, with the third segment showcasing increasingly psychedelic and far-out tracks from
the Action
, pre-
T. Rex
act
John's Children
Spooky Tooth
the Creation
, and so much more.
offers a more-than-adequate starting point for anyone looking for an overview of how early beat music got freakier and freakier as the beat went on, with enough rarities for the well-versed and enough all-time classics for beginners. ~ Fred Thomas