Toby Twirl was a British mod band formed in 1968 that lasted about three years, chasing but never catching that elusive fame. In retrospect, they arrived on the scene too late, considering that music had exploded into many new directions at that time, rapidly distancing itself from the mod-pop of the mid 60s. Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour were already released, Cream had released Wheels of Fire and were breaking up, with Blind Faith appearing in 1969, Led Zeppelin had already released their first album, the Allman Brothers were gaining notice, King Crimson had made its debut, Krautrock was flourishing in Germany, and the Summer of Love and Woodstock with Joe Cocker’s debut was taking America by storm.
I can imagine trying to compete in this new musical environment must have been difficult. Toby Twirl did their time playing live in multiple British clubs, playing mostly cover tunes with a handful of original songs. They were able to record a couple of 45 rpm singles, but never a full length LP. The band had made several demos and showcase recordings at various studios in the late 60s, but everyone thought that they had been lost forever. One day, drummer John Reed chanced upon a dusty box of reel-to-reel tapes in his attic that turned out to be tracks recorded by the band.
These tapes have been carefully restored and will be released in October 2017 as the first official Toby Twirl 180 gram LP. Side 1 features songs with vocalist Dave “Holly” Holland and Side 2 features vocalist Steve Pickering. The music will also be released on CD with three bonus tracks. The sound quality varies from the muffled “Toffee Apple Sunday” and “Hollies Medley,” the tinny “Baby What Good Is Love,” to decent studio recordings like “Movin’ In.” (excerpt by Henry Schneider's review 2017 on expose.org)
The band had talent and it's a pity that they didn't write more own songs . Anyway, this is a well done compilation about the work of the band. Enjoy.(Frank)
Thanks Frank for posting this CD. I downloaded it in Flac and burned a CD-R of it. Thanks from here in New York City.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Robert :-)
Deletegreetz
Frank