V.A. Pop Cycles (Legendary CD-R Collection) Part 1, Vols. 1-4 (PopSike)

Pues otra nueva aventura está servida, y es que hace ya unos cuantos años que quería presentar esta estupenda colección "Pop Cycles", de doce volúmenes, toda una histórica del underground musical, y es que esta colección nunca ha estado a la venta y solo se hicieron unos cuantos CD-R que se distribuían casi de mano en mano.

Está colección me la envió un buen amigo inglés con el cual teníamos reciprocos intercambios, así como peticiones de "cosas raras", y me impactó desde el primer momento. Intenté obtener la autorización de su autor, pero no fue hasta el año pasado que pude contactar con el personalmente y accedió a ello.

En aquellos días estaba trabajando arreglando una habitación para mis nietos, y esos doce volúmenes sonaban ininterruptidamente uno tras otro, con lo cual el resultado fue una habitación mágica. De ellos extraje bastantes canciones para mis series, sobre todo para "Tommentón En La Cuadra" y es que aunque hay bastantes cosas conocidas, hay algunos temas que incluso hoy en día son difíciles de localizar, además, tiene mas valor por los años en los que se realizó de 2004 a 2009.

Tiene a destacar una bonita parte gráfica con imágenes, como no, de bicicletas, y unas excelentes notas en cada volumen, aunque desgraciadamente faltan en alguno.

Sinceramente creo que es una colección excepcional basado en popsike y sonidos cercanos, de estas que te puedes poner hasta la saciedad sin que lleguen a cansarte y mucho menos a aburrirte.

Pero bueno, os dejo al autor, "The musical navigator" a ver que nos cuenta sobre la realización de la serie y nos hable un poco sobre esa época dorada de los CD-R, y como funcionaban:

Twenty years ago streaming did not exist, downloading barely existed. Many lost LPs and great 45s went unknown except to crate digging DJs for their regular alternative 60s nights. It may not be an exaggeration to say that today, there are more 60s sounds known than to anyone who was actually listening In the 60s such is the vastness of finds and spread through the internet. Twenty years ago though, the 60s reissue scene was very much dominated by garage and psych records, especially compilations as it had been in the1990s.

Pop Cycles (the pun being cycles of pop music represented by Edwardian adverts for bicycles), was a non-commercial attempt to get a more varied range of lost 1960s and 1970s 45s into people’s ears. Like many collectors, I started to compile my vinyl finds onto CDR for digital listening and from there, I thought they should be shared. Thus, Pop Cycles grew as a series in the early 2000s when CDR was the main digital carrier of music (until the coming of I-Pods anyway). It ended up as twelve volumes with 14 CDRs (two were double CDR sets).

I should point out that Pop Cycles was a collaborative effort. These were my original records and usually my liner notes where there were any, but there were a range of other collaborators. These kind souls sauced cover art and images of and information on artists or tidied up my label scans. They organised the random whole I sent them into an organised booklet and cover art. Others gave their time to mastering my initial needle drop disc into something a lot more eloquent sounding on their laptops as the software that enabled this became more available. These collaborators did this in the same spirit I compiled them in, that is to resuscitate unfairly obscure records and freely make them accessible again, for the love of the music, not for any commercial gain. Having said that it did cost me quite a bit in CDRs, printer ink and paper and blank CDRs to send them physically, all nicely dressed around the world each time a new volume came out! Over the years of course, I have noticed how quite a few of the inclusions on Pop Cycles have turned up on commercial compilations or even anthologies of the artists concerned. So I like to think that maybe the series played a part in getting them noticed and more widely heard still.

The CDR and its variants such as re-useable CDRs that could be wiped, music CDRs that were for use with a Phillips stand-alone recorder, Japanese CDRs that always seemed to have a higher respect level of quality than others, have all but disappeared as MP4s, lossless files etc. have become the norm, though I see Super Audio CDs (SACDs)  still have a fan base despite blu ray audio discs with atmos and 5.1 surround sound mixes coming in many super deluxe box sets these days (does anyone, remember mini-discs)? There were a very great many un-reissued
albums back then that people traded needle drop CDRs of, just for the hunger to hear them. Many over the years have become commercially available which is a good thing. There is no doubt though that the frenzy of CDR trading back then enabled these albums to emerge as rediscovered gems in the primary market later on and hence the cornucopia of music we can access commercially now. 

CDRs were cleaner and simpler to use than the old ‘mix tape’ C90s that they replaced and felt forward looking. Now they are simply ‘old tech’ Fortunately as a medium proper CDs are still very much alive and kicking, especially in well presented box sets. Long may they be so. It is important though to remember the ways and means that music is rediscovered and transmitted in the digital age where everything moves so fast and barely leaves a trace of the route taken to get to the newest innovation. I like to think Pop Cycles is evidence of that memory along with the countless other home-made given-away compilations in the formative years of this new millennium.

The musical navigator.

Pop Cycles Vol. 1

01 - The Love Children (Featuring Little Joe) - Easy Squeezy

02 - The Rokes - Put The Pen Down

03 - Paul & Barry Ryan - Progress

04 - Los Canarios - Get On Your Knees

05 - The Fourmyula - Start By Giving To Me

06 - The Bats - Picanninies           

07 - The Fortunes - His Smile Was A Lie

08 - The Decision - In The Shade Of Your Love

09 - Joyces Angels - Rodney Reginald Smithfield Harvey Jones

10 - Two & A Half - Christmas Will Be Round Again

11 - The Odyssey - Beware

12 - The Mereseys - Lovely Loretta

13 - The Decision - Constable Jones

14 - Music Motor - Where Am I Going

15 - The U.S. Males - Come Out Of The Rain

16 - Paul & Barry Ryan - Love, You Don´t Know What It Means

17 - The Bats - The Image

18 - The Rokes - 28 Giugno

19 - Lincoln Black - You Build Me Up So High

20 - General Assembly - Sensitive Mind

21 - Annie Philippe - Boeing Jet Et Caravelle

22 - Paul & Barry Ryan - Hey, Mr Wiseman

23 - The Fourmyula - If I had The Time

24 - Good Rats - Gotta Get Back

25 - J C Heavy - That Woman´s Mind

26 - Introduction By Spencer Leigh

27 - The Fourmost - Easy Squeezy

Pop Cycles Vol. 2

01 - Bobby Goldsborough - No Fun At The Fair

02 - Barry Mason - Rowbottom Square

03 - John Christian Dee - Take Me Along

04 - Barry Denson - I Can't Wait

05 - Davey Sands & The Essex - Advertising Girl

06 - Lotus Land - Mr Lion

07 - Amen Corner - World Of Broken Hearts

08 - Arbors - The Letter  

09 - Paul Slade - The Sound Of Love

10 - U.S. Males - Open Up Your Heart

11 - Bobby Goldsborough - Hold On

12 - Steven Lancaster - San Francisco Street

13 - Mike Wallace - Natural High

14 - Two And A Half - Walls Are High

15 - Music Motor - Happy   

16 - Shame - Don't Go 'way Little Girl

17 - Love Children - Every Little Step

18 - New Inspiration - Happy Charlie Madman

19 - Barry Benson - My Friend And I

20 - Johna P. Jones - My Father  

21 - A&A North - Rosemary

22 - Giant Sunflower - February Sunshine

23 - Colors Of Love - I'm A Train

24 - Johna P. Jones - My Mind Is Losing Me

25 - Davey Sands - Oh What A Naughty Man

26 - Barry Mason - American Girl

27 - Fourmost - Easy Squeezy

Pop Cycles Vol. 3

01 - Kayak - Mammoth

02 - Disraeli - Spiinin' Around

03 - Back Alley - Soda Pop Man

04 - Love machine - Lonely Hearts Club Christmas Party

05 - Earl Okin - Stop and You Will Become Aware

06 - Dave Christie - Love and the Big Brass Band 

07 - Marvin, Welch & Farrar - Marmaduke     

08 - Jawbone - Mister Custer

09 - Fickle Pickle - Saturday Morning

10 - Green Lyte Sunday - She's My Lover   

11 - The Stuarts - Just a Little Bit More 

12 - Chapter II - Count                   

13 - Paul Slade - Remember Daphne

14 - Matt Monroe - We're Gonna Change the World

15 - Earl Okin - You're Not There at All

16 - Jess & James - Julie's Doll

17 - Jawbone Brave White Knight                             

18 - Fickle Pickle - Sunshine Pie

19 - Gary & Stu - Lemon City

20 - The Casuals - Tara Tiger Girl

21 - Chapter II - The End is There            

22 - Community - Louisina

23 - Paul Ryder & The Time Lords - If You Ever get to Heaven

24 - Paul Ryder & The Time Lords - Are You Ready

25 - Pink People - Indian Hate Call

26 - Pink People - Psychologically Unsound

                                      

Pop Cycles Vol. 4

01 - Wayne Fontana - Waiting For a Break in the Clouds

02 - Stan Devereaux - Know That It's Happenin'

03 - The Off-Set - A Change is Gonna Come

04 - The Goodtime Singers - Come On Train

05 - The Hello People - (As I Went Down To) Jerusalem

06 - The 4 Seasone - Electric Stories

07 - Abe & Malka - Shakin' Up the Nation

08 - Dave Christie - Penelope Breedlove

09 - Peter Courtney - Dr - David's Private Papers

10 - David & David - In The City

11 - The Shadows - Dear Old Mrs - Bell

12 - Disraeli - Humidity 105

13 - Zakatek - I Gotcha Now

14 - Variation - Down The Road

15 - Wishful Thinking - Clear White Light

16 - Earth & Fire - Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight

17 - The Grammy Fones - Now He's Here

18 - Barbara & Ernie - Play With Fire

19 - Foxy - Trouble

20 - The Hollies - Hey Willy

21 - Bobby Bland - Yolanda

22 - Jolliver Arkansaw - Lisa My Love

23 - The Off-Set - Xanthia

24 - Ganim's Asia Minors - Daddy Lolo

25 - The Racket Squad - Suburban Life

26 - Abe & Malka - Sealed With a Kis

Solo restan las canciones de degustación, una por volumen:

Two & A Half - Christmas Will Be Round Again

Lotus Land - Mr Lion

Fickle Pickle - Saturday Morning

Dave Christie - Penelope Breedlove

Hasta aquí la primera de estas tres partes de esta brillante colección repleta de grandes temas de Popsike, y como es costumbre, las restantes partes se irán publicando cada dos semanas, para dar entrada a otros proyectos.

Agradecer de nuevo a "The Musical Navigator" este trabajo que espero sea un poco mas conocido, pues méritos para ello ya los tiene.

Hasta la semana próxima.

Se agradecen los comentarios