Great choice for first timers - I ve only recently become acquainted with the mod sounds of the Lambrettas. This is a great disc that covers a good bit of their repitoire. I m guessing that hard core fans would already have all the E.P.s L.P.s and 45 s so this would most likely be redundant for that lot. For those that are just getting into this band I believe it s a good listen into the variety of songs/sounds the Lambrettas have released. For those that have only heard Go Steady, Poison Ivy or Page 3..... all the songs do NOT sound like that and you might be better off with a Greatest Hits disc. Is there one? I only say that because if you only like songs that EVERYBODY else will like... then you may only like a half dozen songs or so.I ve heard a few tracks from the Definitive Collection: Beat Boys in the Jet Age disc and those songs sound like they were mastered/mixed a bit brighter overall. That s more to my tastes. But if I wasn t listening to them side by side I d probably never have known the difference. Jeez, does this make sense?Anyway, yes, I m glad I got this set... but would I have been just as happy with the Definitive Collection set????
A product of their time...... - ...The Lambrettas rode in upon the 1979/1982 revival of 1960s Mod, as inspired by the release of the movie Quadrophenia which itself was based on the album by The Who. With virtually no succcess in the US, the Lambrettas did manage to carve their own 20 minutes or so of fame in the UK. Ironically, their best selling hit, a cover of the old Coasters song Poison Ivy was a ska track, and was not at all representative of the band s sound. As this collection shows, they were essentially, for want of a better term, a power pop band, and in the earlier days showed a hint of their R n B roots. As the Mod fad died away, the Lambrettas tried to overcome their flagging success with a change of drummer, a change of look, and a change of musical style. Although the later music had more mature sound, being better produced, the Great British Public wouldn t accept the band in their new direction, and were no longer interested in the older style. This collection truly does contain every track the Lambrettas released (originally on Elton John s Rocket Records label), and is a slice of English pop from that era. The last track on this collection was put together by one member of the band in the early 90s, over decade after the Lambrettas called it quits in the spring of 1982. Did the Lambrettas change the face of Rock and Roll? Of course not, but they didn t try to.
Wrong Songs - I think that the track listing for this Labrettas compilation come from another artist. These songs do not appear on the album. (This is the reason for the 1 star, otherwise this is a fun and great 2nd wave mod band).