What a comp – take a trip down the dark alleys of 60s Soho and, you never know, you might stumble upon a party hosted by Dickie Attenborough where Brubeck drops in to play a tune, but watch out for Patrick McGoohan, he’s a very moody drummer on the make – it could happen, and I could play this selection all night long – sporting a Tuxedo, on a secret assignment, perhaps, caught in the crossfire of criminal activity. It’s all here, the cool of Johnny Hawksworth’s ‘Elusive Samantha’, the late-60s ‘groovy’ beat of Jack Trombey’s ‘Assignment London’. And Reg Tisley. Yes, perhaps not a name that has the panache of the American stars, but don’t be fooled, he crops up a few times with magnificent tunes such as the splendidly woozy ‘Anaesthesia’, and ‘Slow Moody Blues’, which believe me wouldn’t put the mighty Q to shame. The oddest track is Pete Wilshire’s ‘Dr Witch-Wot’, lifted from the De Wolfe album, ‘Lunar Probe’, which may not fit with the overall style preference of this comp, but is absolutely brilliant all the same. ‘No fillers’ is a common claim of compilers and enthusiastic reviewers, but here it’s true. Even the less extraordinary tunes are more than good enough. It’s worth having for Peter Reno’s ‘Silent Service’ alone. Listen Hear.
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