It s well-documented that a seminal array of epoch-making American R&B, blues and rock n roll songs provided the inspirational well-spring for the UK s major 1960s musical movements; from the Mersey Beat boom led by the Beatles to West London s blues revolution as spearheaded by the Rolling Stones. Roots Of British Beat s immaculate selection gathers together 50 hugely-influential tunes reaped from the goldmine of nuggets on which these artists built their early sets and drew inspiration for later triumphs and milestones. Introduced by BBC Radio Merseyside s Spencer Leigh, and compiled and annotated by Fantastic Voyage s own Lorne Murdoch, the set s two CD-shaped firecrackers uncork a gamut of songs covered by British and Irish bands during the Boom years between 1962-1966, most hits at the time, many going on to become staples of a wide variety of artists repertoires over the ensuing decades. Fantastic Voyage has approached this crucial area with its customary passion and knowledge, meaning well-known outings such as Little Richard s Good Golly Miss Molly , John D. Loudermilk s Tobacco Road , Barrett Strong s Money (That What I Want) and Howlin Wolf s The Red Rooster can rub shoulders with much-loved tracks which may raise an eyebrow in their original form; the Drifters Sweets For My Sweets as swept to chart-topping glory by the Searchers in 1963. Memories may also be reawakened with unashamed nostalgic joy, as the Crickets yearning Someone, Someone (as taken to the to the top in 1964 by Brian Poole & the Tremeloes) looms as a former B-side along with the same year s future Stones hit Not Fade Away . The set also boasts crucial blues boom missiles by the likes of Bo Diddley and Slim Harpo. Other names looming large on this inestimably-enjoyable collection include Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Larry Williams, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Gary U.S. Bonds, Ben E. King, Arthur Alexander, Sam Cooke, Lee Dorsey, Mary Wells, Gene Vincent, Bobby Darin, Ray Charles, Screamin Jay Hawkins, the Coasters, the Shirelles, the Clovers and the Isley Brothers, true to form joined by lesser-known figures including Chan Romero, Johnny Love and Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs. The repercussions of these tracks were seismic. To encounter them under the same roof is both euphoric and fascinating.
