THE EYES "The Arrival Of The Eyes: The Complete Recordings" [CD]
2006 - Psychedelic Rock from United States
Detailed Description
The Eyes' 1965 single, 'When The Night Falls,' produced by the king of compression Shel Talmy, should have made them rich and famous (it didn't). Alan Freeman described it as "truly unforgettable"-a prophetic statement. Later writers, like Cliff Jones in Mojo magazine, have described it as being "raw as an open wound, as sharp as a scalpel blade, and jammed full of sinewy whiplash lead guitar and pounding demonic 'jungle telegraph' drums." And it's not as though the rest of the Eyes other recordings lack power and excellence. Sure, their early slices of Mod cool borrowed heavily from the classic 1960's sound of the Who-Mod anthem 'My Degeneration', the b-side to the Eyes' second single, is either a tongue-in-cheek homage to (or an absolute subversive rip on) the Who, and is both funny and cool at the same time. Yet the band's finest cuts, with their blend of innovative guitar feedback/distortion and anthemic songwriting, are equal in stature to rock classics of the era. The Eyes' bursts of electronic mayhem were advanced for the time, and they had hooks and harmonies to counterpoint the madness. Thanks to the timeless quality of their great tracks, the band's legacy continues to grow as more and more people discover that long forgotten bands like the Eyes (or Les Fleur Des Lys, to name another) could match heavyweights like the Who, the Kinks and the Small Faces blow for blow, even if only for a fleeting three minutes of pure genius at a time. Contains all the band's output-released and unreleased-including demo versions, alternates, and the entire Pupils Tribute To The Rolling Stones exploitation album from 1966 as a bonus. Fat 24-page booklet is packed with zippy notes on the band, photos, and pages from the band's own fan-club pamphlet.
