The ''English Freakbeat'' series is a group of five

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s, released in the late 1980s, that were issued by

AIP Records AIP Records is a record label that was started by Greg Shaw's Bomp! Records in 1983 to continue the Pebbles series. AIP stands for "Archive International Productions". The first 10 volumes in the Pebbles series had been released by BFD Reco ...

. The LPs featured recordings that were released in the mid-1960s by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

bands in the early

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock genre and movement. A retrospective label, the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variet ...

, R&B, mod, and

beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...

genres. The series served as a follow-up to the '' Pebbles, Volume 6'' LP, itself subtitled ''The Roots of Mod'', which was the only album in the ''Pebbles'' series that was devoted to English music. When the ''English Freakbeat'' series was reissued as CDs in the 1990s, the ''Pebbles, Volume 6'' LP was adapted into the ''English Freakbeat, Volume 6'' CD.

Nature of the music

The

website describes the albums in the ''English Freakbeat'' series as being " voted to some of the more raw & rockin' UK nuggets that have been overlooked by

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

's more

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

-obsessed

compilers In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs tha ...

, aving anemphasis on

and R&B but with some volumes leaning toward mod-

and

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

." Though disparaged as "failed mod singles" by some on-line reviewers, these recordings are important in many respects, not least because many of the musicians enjoyed considerably more success and prominence in later years. This music was created and released somewhat earlier than the time period of the

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

era in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

and elsewhere – 1961-1965 generally (although some of the music was released as late as 1967) – but there are many similarities between these musical styles. Additionally,

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

music was prevalent on both sides of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

. However, English recording artists continued to be influenced by the American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and R&B musicians that helped give rise to the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

in the first place; whereas, in the U.S., the music was in more of a

direction. As an example, the ''English Freakbeat'' albums include several covers of songs by American blues legends like

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

and

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

; such covers are virtually unknown among American

bands. Some of the bands featured on these albums may not be

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, and at least one (the

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

band Bill & Will, on '' English Freakbeat, Volume 6'') definitely is not. Additionally, several of the recordings that were made by English artists were apparently never released there; many were released only in the

, while others are taken from singles or albums that were issued in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, etc. One early review of the first volume in this series raved about "gems from groups like the Sheffields, the Loot, the Chasers, the Primitives and the Beat Merchants – basically, the kind of sounds that are liable to make me lose my marbles at any given moment! . . . This is one of the best compilations I've heard in ages, and given the choice between this and a

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...

high stack of U.S. `60s

comps, I'd take English Freakbeat every time."Mike Stax, 1989 article in Ugly Things #8 fanzine.

Discography

LPs

* '' English Freakbeat, Volume 1''; #AIP-10039 * '' English Freakbeat, Volume 2''; #AIP-10047 * '' English Freakbeat, Volume 3''; #AIP-10048 * '' English Freakbeat, Volume 4''; #AIP-10051 * '' English Freakbeat, Volume 5''; #AIP-10049

CDs

* ''English Freakbeat, Volume 1''; #AIP-CD-1039 * ''English Freakbeat, Volume 2''; #AIP-CD-1047 * ''English Freakbeat, Volume 3''; #AIP-CD-1048 * ''English Freakbeat, Volume 4''; #AIP-CD-1051 * ''English Freakbeat, Volume 5''; #AIP-CD-1049 * ''English Freakbeat, Volume 6''; #AIP-CD-1055 (based on LP ''Pebbles, Volume 6''; #BFD-5023)

References

{{Authority control Compilation album series Mod (subculture)