In 1992, rock journalist Paul Moody was due to release his bands debut album ‘Portabellohello’. Dodgy accountants, a police raid and 22 years later the album finally got to see the light of day. Here is TT’s view on things.
There
seems to be two types of song on this album. There are the upbeat mod-psyche
numbers which would have every proper music pub rocking. The other side, sadly,
simply don’t stack up the former.
‘Goodbye
Baby and Amen’ and ‘Doubledeckerbus’ are two of the aforementioned more upbeat
mod-psyche numbers. Both tracks see the Hammond organ getting a workout worthy
of Rob Collins during his Charlatans pomp. ‘Doubledeckerbus’, has a riff from
Steve Craddock’s locker which will inevitably fuel good moods. Furthermore,
both tracks witness some fine Edwyn Collins crooning which is never a bad
thing.
The
album also has small successes with ‘Mrs Choudhrey’ and ‘In A Broken Dream’.
‘Mrs Choudhrey’ is a joyous cross between the heady days of Britpop and the
trippy side of Small Faces. Meanwhile, ‘In A Broken Dream’ is an instrumental
drenched in 60s acid which has more than a hint of ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ to
it.
Unfortunately,
there are too many songs on this album and as a result the quality does dip on
the likes of ‘Rollin Machine’, ‘Just Say The Word’ and ‘Portabellohello’. These
tracks stray into the drearier areas of the genres they chase but ultimately,
this heightened because elsewhere, the quality is high.
It’s
a genuine pity Studio 68 didn't get their 15mins of fame back in ’92 but the
album is out now and one for all Mod collections.
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