Various Artists - You Can Walk Across it on The Grass (2024) @ 320

 

Celebration of the mid-60s Swinging London scene at its brash, colourful zenith.

 A cornucopia of club-friendly mod R&B/soul, era-defining pop hits and cult TV/film themes as England swung like a pendulum do.

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In April 1966, American magazine Time ran a front-page feature, captioned “You Can Walk Across It On The Grass”, that proclaimed London to be the most swinging city in the world and leader of contemporary pop culture.

The concept of Swinging London – a zeitgeist-capturing collision of the most daring fashions, the coolest actors/models, the grooviest pop music – had already been fermenting for a year or two, but Time’s feature propelled it from well-kept local secret to internationally-acknowledged phenomenon. Over four hours and three CDs, ‘You Can Walk Across It On The Grass: The Boutique Sounds of Swinging London’ documents a scene that, 60 years later, still grips the public’s imagination.

From the notorious Profumo affair that brought down the Government and ended the age of deference to Bobby Moore accepting a still-gleaming Jules Rimet Trophy from Queen Elizabeth in the high summer of 1966, ‘You Can Walk Across It On The Grass’ celebrates a period in which Carnaby Street and the King’s Road seemed to be the centre of the universe.

Era-defining hit singles from The Kinks, The Who, Small Faces, Manfred Mann and The Troggs are joined by solo performers (Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield etc) and a plethora of groups that played their brand of R&B/soul/jazz at such clubs as The Flamingo, The Cromwellian, The Scotch of St. James and, of course, The Marquee.

In addition to various young mods-about-town (The Action, The Creation, David Bowie), we feature cheeky, kinky singles from such names as Avengers pair Honor Blackman and Patrick Macnee, Twiggy and Mandy Rice-Davies, and a clutch of instrumentals that were hits in their own right (‘I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman’) or gained popularity as TV/radio themes (The Avengers, Man In A Suitcase).

With a 48-page booklet that features some fabulous Swinging London images, ‘You Can Walk Across It On The Grass’ is a nostalgia-inducing time capsule of the original Cool Brittania era. Climb aboard for the ride but, in the words of Dave Dee and his pals, “Hold tight!”.

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\Various Artists - You Can Walk Across it on The Grass

CD 1

 1. The Mood-Mosaic - A Touch of Velvet a Sting of Brass 

 2. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - Hold Tight! 

 3. Kiki Dee - Why Don't I Run Away From You 

 4. Jimmy James & The Vagabonds - I Wanna be (Your Everything) 

 5. Twiggy - When I Think of You 

 6. The Laurie Johnson Orchestra - Theme From “the Avengers” 

 7. Patrick Macnee & Honor Blackman - Kinky Boots 

 8. The Alan Bown Set - Emergency 999 

 9. A Band of Angels - Invitation 

 10. Manfred Mann - 5-4-3-2-1 

 11. The Yardbirds - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl 

 12. David John & The Mood - That Little Old Heartbreaker me 

 13. Tony Rivers & The Castaways - Girl Don't Tell me 

 14. The Knack - Dolly Catcher Man 

 15. Dusty Springfield - Little by Little 

 16. Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band - She Shot a Hole in my Soul 

 17. The Mike Cotton Sound - I Don't Wanna Know 

 18. The End - You Better Believe it Baby 

 19. The Action - In my Lonely Room 

 20. Zoot Money's Big Roll Band - I Really Learnt How to Cry 

 21. Glenda Collins With The Riot Squad - Mockingbird 

 22. The John Schroeder Orchestra - On The Ball 

 23. Neil Christian & The Crusaders - She Said Yeah 

 24. The Hi-Fis - London Look 

 25. Electric Banana - Walking Down The Street 

 26. John Carter - Winchester Cathedral 

 27. Phillip Goodhand-Tait - I'm Gonna Put Some Hurt on You 

 28. Miss X - Christine 

 29. Mandy Rice-Davies - You've Got What it Takes 

 30. The Caravelles - Don't Blow Your Cool 

CD 2 

 1. The Troggs - I Can't Control Myself 

 2. David Bowie With The Lower Third - Can't Help Thinking About me 

 3. The Creation - Try And Stop me 

 4. The London Studio Group - Viva la Tamla Motown 

 5. Dave Anthony's Moods - New Directions 

 6. The Kinks - Dedicated Follower of Fashion 

 7. The Shots - She's a Liar 

 8. The Fortunes - Caroline 

 9. Ron Grainer - A Man in a Suitcase 

 10. Eric Burdon & The Animals - Help me Girl 

 11. Waygood Ellis - I Like What I'm Trying to do 

 12. The Graham Bond Organisation - Wade in The Water 

 13. The Who - I'm a Boy 

 14. Sounds Around - Red White And You 

 15. Episode Six - Put Yourself in my Place 

 16. Bluesology - Mr. Frantic 

 17. Des James - Little Games 

 18. Tom Jones - Chills And Fever 

 19. Twinkle - Take me to The Dance 

 20. Whistling Jack Smith - I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman 

 21. The Artwoods - Big City 

 22. John Mayall's Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton - Little Girl 

 23. The Spencer Davis Group - Looking Back (Single Version) 

 24. The Mickey Finn - Because I Love You (Aka I do Love You) 

 25. The Merseys - Sorrow (Alternative Version) 

 26. Samantha - Just if Trees Could Talk 

 27. The Spectrum - Portobello Road 

 28. Les & Paul Barrett Julie Brown - Loves Captain Cook 

 29. Stan Butcher, His Birds & Brass - Morningtown Ride 

 30. The Mirage - What'cha Gonna do About it 

 31. The Chantelles - London - My Home Town 

CD3 

 1. The Easybeats - Friday on my Mind 

 2. The Downliners Sect - The Cost of Living 

 3. Basil Kirchin & John Coleman - The Hustle 

 4. Carl Douglas & The Big Stampede - Crazy Feeling 

 5. Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames - Do The Dog 

 6. The Untamed - I'll go Crazy 

 7. Moon's Train - I Get Excited 

 8. The Richard Kent Style - I'm Out 

 9. Wynder k. Frogg - Henry's Panter 

 10. Small Faces - Whatcha Gonna do About it 

 11. The Syn - I'm Following You 

 12. Jack Bruce - I'm Gettin' Tired (of Drinkin' And Gamblin' Etc) 

 13. Ken Woodman & His Piccadilly Brass - Town Talk 

 14. The Union - If You Need me 

 15. The Roll Movement - I'm Out on my Own 

 16. The Good Time Losers - Where Did my Heart go 

 17. The Drag Set - Get Out of my Way 

 18. The Extreem - Don't You Ignore me 

 19. Gary Farr & The t-Bones - Don't Stop And Stare 

 20. The Moody Blues - Lose Your Money (But Don't Lose Your Mind) 

 21. Miki Dallon - Cheat And Lie 

 22. The Profile - Haven't They Got Better Things to do 

 23. Dana Gillespie - She's a Raver 

 24. Peanut - I'm Waiting For The Day 

 25. The Good Things - I'm Back 

 26. John's Children - Not The Sort of Girl You Take to Bed 

 27. The Odyssey - How Long is Time 

 28. The Jeeps - The Music Goes Round 

 29. The Roaring 60's - We Love The Pirates 

 30. The London Studio Group - Pageing Sullivan 

 31. Angela & The Fans - Love ya Illya 

 32. Petula Clark - England Swings 

Review by Tim Sendra

There's absolutely no doubt that London was one swinging town in the mid-'60s. The fashion, films, and especially music of the era reflected the changes ripping through society as well as helping to push them forward. You Can Walk Across It on the Grass: The Boutique Sounds of Swinging London is Grapefruit Records' attempt at creating a soundtrack for what one might have heard on a day out hitting the shops on Carnaby Street or a night spent club-hopping. Over the course of three discs, the label does a fantastic job collecting all sorts of songs that range from snappy easy listening tracks to gritty blues rave-ups, mod freak-outs to sultry girl group ballads, and a variety of great tracks by bands both world-famous and familiar only to obsessives. It may not be an exhaustive survey of every avenue of sound artists traveled down during the decade, but it does send the listener back in time quite convincingly in ways that are both pleasingly obvious and excitingly obscure. In the former category are tracks by big names like the Who, the Kinks, David Bowie, Tom Jones, the Moody Blues, the Yardbirds, and Dusty Springfield along with appearances by the kind of bands -- the Action, Manfred Mann, Petula Clark, the Animals -- that a set like this would feel unfinished without. The songs chosen are properly obscure or at least not the same old hits that always get aired. More excitingly to anyone without an advanced degree in mid-'60s Brit-pop are the myriad of selections that satisfy the latter half of the equation previously mentioned. The set is loaded with gems like Peanut's girl group dramatic take on the Beach Boys' "I'm Waiting for the Day," the Odyssey's super-dramatic slice of MOR pop "How Long Is Time," Les & Paul Barrett's charmingly twee bubblegum nugget "Julie Brown Loves Captain Cook," Jimmy James & the Vagabonds' grooving "I Wanna Be (Your Everything)," and loads more of the kind of tracks that often elude compilations. Also mixed in are swinging orchestral interludes, paeans to mod icons and pirate radio, the theme song to The Avengers, goofy novelty tunes, and an appearance by one of the scene's most famous faces, Twiggy. Her contribution, "When I Think of You," is a storming girl group rocker featuring strings, jangling guitars, and, amazingly, what sounds like a distorted bassoon taking front and center. It's exactly the kind of sparkling, surprising, and gloriously strange song that typifies the era, and it's just one of many tracks that help make this set a delight. The compilation balances nostalgia, discovery, and fun perfectly while serving as a reminder of just how excitingly flashy and stylish the sounds that made up the time and place could be when at their best.

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Thanks a lot to Cor !