VA - Watch Your Step (New Rubble Volume 3)

It's no mean feat to come up with British Invasion music that has seldom if ever been reissued somewhere or other, and Nick Saloman has done it again with the 20 tracks compiled on Watch Your Step: New Rubble, Vol. 3. One of the reasons, it has to be said, that much of this kind of stuff has been seldom or never reissued is that the best material has been taken care of on many other preceding compilations, inevitably leading to a drop-off in quality on yet deeper collector-oriented anthologies such as this. What we're left with on this CD is largely passable, but well short of earthshaking, filler from both the R&B- and pop-based divisions of the British beat boom from a bunch of quite rare 1963-1966 singles, most of them on major labels (and one, the Huskies' "Matchbox," taken from an unissued acetate). British Invasion hounds may recognize a few of the names here and there, like the Toggery Five, Tommy Bruce, Dave Davani, and the Blackwells (who appeared in the Ferry Cross the Mersey movie singing the song featured here, "Why Don't You Love Me"). But as for the rest, there are probably very few collectors other than Saloman who've heard these names, let alone heard these discs. Not much here makes a lasting impression despite nearly unflagging effervescent energy, but there is one really good track in the Little Darlings' "Easy to Cry," a far tougher rendition (complete with Bo Diddley beat) than the original Merseybeat-ish pop/rocker by Carter-Lewis & the Southerners. Alas, that's the opening track and nothing else matches it, but the Toggery Five's "It's So Easy" isn't a bad sort of mod-Merseybeat mix, and Ray Singer's "What's Done Has Been Done" has some cool kinda James Bond-ish riffs that don't quite go anywhere.~ Review by Richie Unterberger

01.The Little Darlings - Easy To Cry (02:04)

02.Tommy Bruce & The Bruisers - Boom Boom (02:43)

03.The Blue Chips - Some Kind Of Lovin' (03:08)

04.Freddie Ryder - Slow Down (02:49)

05.Bobby Dean - St. James Infirmary (03:39)

06.The Laurie Jay Combo - Teenage Idol (02:05)

07.The Troggery Five - It's So Easy (03:02)

08.Bobbie Jameson - Please Mr. Mailman (02:01)

09.Dave Davani & The D-Men - Midnight Special (02:25)

10.The Boston Crabs - As Long As I Have You (02:52)

11.The Blackwells - Why Don't You Love Me (02:20)

12.Hamilton King - Ain't It Time (02:43)

13.Michael Leslie - Make Up Or Break Up (02:21)

14.The Huskies - Matchbox (02:26)

15.Danny King - Tossin' And Turnin' (02:25)

16.Peter London - Baby I Like The Look Of You (02:01)

17.Tony Colton - Lose My Mind (01:57)

18.Steve Francis - Watch Your Step (02:16)

19.The Falling Leaves - She Loves To Be Love (02:07)

20.Ray Singer - What's Done Has Been Done (03:04)

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