Skip Bifferty "The Story of Skip Bifferty" 2003(comp)***

Skip Bifferty were a very English psychedelic pop band. Although they certainly could (and on occasion did) rock hard, their music was infused with music-hall humour and fairy-tale whimsy. It is a great slice of flower-power pop that nevertheless met with little success. Not a world away from Pink Floyd, Kinks and Who circa 1967 (Piper at the Gates, Village Green and Sell Out being their respective albums at the time). This 2CD compilation is their complete output, including their sole album, singles, live radio sessions and assorted singles from band offshoots. The first 14 songs are the complete "Skip Bifferty" album from 1968. There's not a bad song in the bunch but my favourites are: mod-psych "When she comes to stay", ballad "Come around" and piano-led "Follow the path of the stars". "Time Track" features great guitarwork and handclaps and the trippy "Guru" Eastern percussion. "Prince of Germany the first" and "Gas board under dog" are two of those whimsical songs, "Orange lace" a beautiful ballad and "Jeremy Carabine" a poppy number.
 "Planting bad seeds" reminds me of Small Faces while their single "Man in Black" is actually produced by a couple of Small Faces and is one of the Bifferty's best songs. First single "On Love" is another great rocker that pointed to a more garagey direction not taken. The second CD is where this compilation becomes exhaustive (and exhausting). A number of live BBC sessions are unearthed but the recording quality is below par. Still, they contain a few previously unreleased original compositions and are therefore welcome. The CD closes with two singles recorded under different names (Heavy Jelly, Griffin). These are more interesting, especially "I Keep Singing the Same Old Song" a hard rocking song which found many listeners at the time thanks to its inclusion in budget compilation "Nice Enough to Eat". Guitarist John Turnbull and keyboardist Mick Gallagher later teamed with Ian Dury to create The Blockheads and still perform under that name despite Dury's demise. Singer Graham Bell played in various (and less successful) groups. Still, he will always be remembered as the man who invented the telephone (mistakenly though - that was Alexander Graham Bell). Joking aside, his work with Skip Bifferty should, in a fair world, have brought him enough fame on his own right. Do listen to it.

**** for When She Comes to Stay, Come Around, Follow the Path of the Stars, Man in Black, On Love, I Keep Singing the Same Old Song (Heavy Jelly)

*** for Money Man, Jeremy Carabine, Guru, Time Track Gas Board Underdog, Orange Lace, Planting Bad Seeds, Yours for at Least, Prince of Germany the First, Happy Land, I Am the Noise in Your Head (Griffin), Don't You Know (Griffin).

** for Inside the Secret, Clearway, Cover Girl, Around and Around, This We Shall Explore, Schizoid Revolution, all the BBC Sessions (2.1-2.13, 2.18), Blue (Heavy Jelly)