The Tol-Puddle Martyrs are an Australian based group, which evolved from the mid 60's band Peter & the Silhouettes, who released a few singles between 1966-1968. Including: "Claudette Jones", "Time Will Come" and "Social Cell". Although, not known of or heard of to attain popularity outside of Australia at the time. Over recent years, these original singles have gained monumental status with 60's garage/punk collectors and have been highly regarded among some of the rarest most sought after recordings. Some of which, have sold for abundant collector prices.
"A Celebrated Man" is the latest (2009) release by the Tol-Puddle Martyrs and is a continuation of the authentic 60's style psychedelic/garage/pop tunes, that reflects some of the bands original influences from the British Invasion sounds of the mid sixties, that embraces the period and takes you on a journey back in time.
Although each song on this album is well arranged and carefully written with a unique individual meaning and story to tell that suggests the pureness and innocence of the sixties pop style of music. It is difficult to classify and break down each song on this album in comparison to one another, as each follow the obvious simplicity of the earlier forms of the 60's style dreamy melodic tunes, we all so commonly refer to as bubble gum! Instrumentally, the songs are acoustically driven, keyboard-hammond organ drenched with electric fuzz guitar and drums coming to the fore, with 2-3 minute hooks and melodies, spiritually uplifting lyrics & classic vocal harmonies, that leaves you wanting to hear more. However, some of the things that boldly separates this music from a lot of the more obscure yummy GUM pop style melodies, is the majority of the songs on this album strongly possess a raw cutting edge form of the 60's underground garage/punk rock and psychedelic overtones throughout, all of which compliments and harmonizes well together, producing a stellar peculiarity and depth that grabs your attention and keeps you guessing what is next!
In addition to this album being an authentic example of some of the original 60's style underground garage/psych/punk/pop all in one.. producing a boundary less and timeless feel, that is a real musical pleasure to experience. But it is extremely competitive with todays newer forms of garage rock as well! So whether you like the new or older styles, this album will pleasingly suit both and is highly recommended!
Reviewed by: Jan (editor)
09/08/09
