THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
2,020) The Action — “Strange Roads”
With a “compelling riff and anthemic vibe, as much a Summer of Love declaration of independence as any Forrest Gump soundtrack fodder hit of the day” (Jittery White Guy, https://www.jitterywhiteguymusic.com/2024/02/my-top-1000-songs-552-strange-roads.html), here is another unreleased demo from the Action’s (see #393, 429, 966, 1,773, 1,913) top contender for the greatest lost album of the 60’s. It is “a true tour de force by the band”, a “vehicle for Martin Stone’s fuzzed out lead guitar and an incredibly heavy performance by the rhythm section”. (Kevin Rathert, https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2019/01/the-action-shadows-and-reflections.html)
Matt Kritzer writes:
Kicking off with an elemental riff, the drums hit and launch into a lead guitar line that sounds like what an electric guitar was made to do. Reg King’s impassioned shout, the gorgeous backing vocals, sung lyrics that feel classic but not cliche. By the end of the song the drums are practically tripping over themselves with energy. Play it loud.
https://medium.com/grey-matter/the-action-rolled-gold-1967-8-2002-3b80c5a438a8
“You’ve gotta kinda close your eyes and imagine how it might sound with proper recording and some of the bum notes fixed, but as the blueprint for arguably one of the best records of the era you can get most of the way there.” (Jittery White Guy, https://www.jitterywhiteguymusic.com/2024/02/my-top-1000-songs-552-strange-roads.html)
The LP that never was “deftly balances understated, sensitive rock with soaring anthems, and at its best it achieves both with muscle and melody.” (Matt Kritzer again) Matthew Sweet calls it “melodic mayhem … fueled by an emerging psychedelia … approached with a spirt of abandon”. (liner notes to the CD comp Rolled Gold) It came from “[a] mod band made up of genuine mods” (Andrew Sandoval, liner notes to Rolled Gold) that changed with the times.
As guitarist lan King recalled:
Gone were the days of the pill-popping mods who seemed to rave all night long. Different drugs came onto the music scene . . . so attitudes and passions changed. We were no exception. We began to experiment with new ideas, writing songs even, which was very exciting. We wanted to play our own stuff, instead of doing covers all the time.”
liner notes to Rolled Gold
As to the album, Matt Collar writes:
The term “lost classic” is applied liberally and often erroneously to unreleased recordings that resurface years later in a maelstrom of hype. However, for . . . the Action, the term is not only justified, it is painfully bittersweet. . . . [This] goes beyond “lost classic” — it is the influential masterpiece no one was ever allowed to hear. . . . By the time they recorded [Rolled Gold‘s] demo tracks in 1967, the band had grown weary of the musically limited mod scene, which was on its last legs. . . . Prefiguring the coming psychedelic movement, the songs were epic, heartfelt, melodic socks to the gut . . . think The Who’s Tommy meets The Byrds’ Fifth Dimension. Unbelievably, EMI . . . was not interested, and the tracks were shelved. . . . Playing like the brilliant missing link between mod and psychedelic rock, [it] is experimental without being silly or twee and emotionally mature without being pompous and boring. . . . [Some t]racks . . . are as good, if not better, than anything that charted during the late ’60s . . . .
As to the Action, Bruce Eder tells us:
In the mid-’60s, the Action had a strong grassroots following among British mods. But despite the support of George Martin, they never managed anything close to a hit record. The Action were the most soul-oriented of the mod groups, favoring guitar-oriented covers of Motown tunes and R&B dance numbers of the day . . . . Martin’s production put the emphasis on Reg King’s impressive vocals and the group’s high vocal harmonies, in the process getting a unique sound. . . . The Action changed members and their sound as the decade progressed, and were reborn as Mighty Baby [see #1,646]. The band started out in North London during 1963 as quartet called the Boys . . . . [who] went out of existence in 1964, but didn’t split up, instead reconfiguring themselves as a five-piece. . . . the Action. [T]hey developed a tougher, harder sound that quickly made them favorites among mod audiences. The Action had a sound similar to the Small Faces [see #969, 1,024] . . . . They were discovered by George Martin, who signed them to his newly founded AIR Productions in 1965 and got them a recording deal at Parlophone Records . . . . The Action debuted with an excellent single of “Land of a 1000 Dances” b/w “In My Lonely Room,” which failed to make the charts despite being an irresistible dance number and lovely ballad respectively, performed with genuine flair and inspiration, not to mention an authentic white soul sound from Reg King that was as credible as anything emanating from England at the time. The Action’s second single, “I’ll Keep on Holding On” . . . released in early 1966, was just as good . . . as their first, but saw no greater chart success. The Action maintained a serious following among the mods . . . but they couldn’t get a break with their records and were unable to get the exposure that would have bumped them to the next level. . . . [B]y late 1966 and early 1967, they were doing smooth soul-styled material . . . . [and] by mid-1967 the[y] had evolved . . . into a progressive folk-rock-based sound . . . . Though Martin still supported the music the Action were making, their lack of success meant that AIR could no longer keep them on the label and they were let go in 1967. They . . . soon were back in the studio cutting a new batch of songs that were all composed by the band and featured a heavier, more psychedelic sound. They sent the tape around to various labels, but were unable to drum up enough interest to sign a deal. . . . Reg King subsequently left the band to pursue a solo career, and . . . the outfit that remained, rechristened Azoth. . . . They eventually transformed themselves into a pure psychedelic outfit, Mighty Baby . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-action-mn0000029067/biography
Here is Sidewalk Society (’17), who recorded not a cover song, but a whole cover album, of which Olav Martin Bjørnsen writes:
Sidewalk Society have taken on the job of recording these songs in the manner they deserve, and they have done a smashing job of doing just that. Perhaps not always in the way The Action may have intended, but most certainly in a time typical manner of the age and from the age when these songs were crafted.
https://houseofprog.com/sidewalk-society-strange-roads-the-songs-of-rolled-gold-2017/
Matt Mead adds:
You can picture George Martin bringing this kind of clean and polished sound to each song if he was left to craft the original songs in Abbey Road. Sidewalk Society have been working on this tribute to the legendary band The Action for a long time – and it’s a classic – a true labour of love.
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